How to Grow 100 Bushels of 
Corn Per Acre on Worn Soil 



"CORN IS KING" 



WILLIAM C. SMITH OP INDIANA 



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Class ■^■U ('<j / 



Copyright]^?. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




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1 



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i' 



How to Grow 

One Hundred Bushels of Corn Per Acre 

On Worn Soils 



CORN IS KING" 



By 

WILLIAM C. SMITH 

OF INDIANA 



ILLUSTRATED 



IMO 

Smith Publisuing Company 

Delphi, Indiana 






Copyright, 1910, by 
William O. Smith. 



All Rights Reserved. 



Cn!.A259561 



THE FARMER OF THE PAST SCORNED THE STUD\' 
OF SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. HE FOUND THE SOIL 
RICH IN THE ELEMENTS THAT PRODUCED STORE- 
HOUSES OF RICHES. HE TOUCHED IT WITH THE 
WAND OF GREED AND NEGLECT— IT WAS 
STRANGLED WITH ITS WASTED FERTILITY. 

THE MODERN FARMER BECAME A STUDENT OF 
SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. HE FOUND THE SOIL 
DEPLETED AND DESPOILED OF ITS FERTILITY. HE 
TOUCHED IT WITH THE WAND OF HIS KNOW- 
LEDGE—IT BECAME RICH IN THE ELEMENTS THAT 
PRODUCE A HUNDREDFOLD. 



There grows in Nature's Garden the plants with 
which the farmer can restore his sick, worn-out soils. 
These plants are the silent -working forces of Nature that 
do their work better than any artificial agency devised 
by man. 

It behooves us to study Nature's way of doing things. 

"Accuse not Nature, she hath done her part. Do 
thou but thine."— Milton. 




"The Clearin'." 



PROEM. 

In a little frame farmhouse on a pioneer's farm, in the 
Indian Reser\e. out of which I h. ward County. Indiana, 
was carved, the author hrst saw the light of day. His 
first vision of the world was through the six l)y six glass 
windows out across the door yard and public highway 
into the "clearin'." His father, a sturdy pioneer, had 
settled in this wilderness abounding in gigantic walnut, 
poplar and oak trees, interspersed with the smaller vari- 
eties of timber and underbrush, and by strength of 
muscle alone was subduing the forests and making the 
land to blossom with the fruits of the husbandman. 

The pioneer father is sleeping now. He sleeps beside 
the faithful wife who g'axe him companionship in the 
days of his toil. He sleejis in the beautiful land made 
so by the strength, toil and endurance c)f the pioneer. 

To the memory of that pioneer father, who loved the 
soil, this book is dedicated; and as the pioneer fathers 
subdued the land from the wilderness and gave it to 
their children, rich in the fertility that Xature gave it, 
may the children so farm and treat it that that fertilit}' 
may increase and not decrease as the }ears go by. 

The author loves the soil or else this book \\-()uld have 
ne'er been born. 

Loving the soil as he does, his indignation is aroused 
when he sees it despoiled b}' the soil robber. If this 
book will only awaken the conscience of the soil de- 
spoiler, the author will feel that his efforts have not 
been in vain. 

WILLIAM C. SAIITH. 
Delphi, Indiana, January. 1910. 

9 



INTRODUCTION. 

Abandoned farms and decreasing production of our 
farm lands is the present-day menace of our country. 
Increasing- population, decreasing fertility of our soils 
and fewer acres of new land opened for settlement brings 
us each day nearer the solution of the problem, how 
shall we feed our people? 

The answer to the question is the "Renovation of 
A\'orn-out Soils" so that they will again ])roduce as they 
did when our forefathers su1)dued them from the wilder- 
ness that held them in subjection for centuries. 

Renovation of the Soil — what does it mean? 

It means to make the soil over again, to restore it to 
freshness or vigor — to renew it. 

Too many American farmers have gone upon the prin- 
ciple that their land will never wear out. Their fathers 
entered upon land covered with the >irgin forest, rich in 
all the elements that make good soil ; the forests were 
subdued and the land brought into cultivation ; bountiful 

10 



crops were produced l)ecause the soil was well supplied 
with humus, nitrogen, potash and other elements found 
in tirst-class soils. Year after year l:)umper crops were 
gathered from these lands, the pioneer died, and his sons 
and son's sons continued to farm these lands in the same 
manner and with the same methods as they were farmed 
by the pioneer. 

It did not seem possible to the sons and son's sons 
that these rich lands could c\er reach the point of ex- 
haustion or that the time would come when they must 
be farmed and treated in a different manner than when 
they were hrst cleared and i)lanted, }et that very time 
has come to millions of acres of American soils. 

Millions of acres of our land that once produced from 
seventy-five to one hundred bushels of corn per acre will 
not now produce twenty bushels to the acre. These 
acres have gone into "agricultural bankru[)tcy." 

IJeing confronted with this condition, what can we do 
to remedy it? Is there a remedy and is the remedy a 
sure and ([uick one? The remedy must be quick, for we 
cannot wait fifty years as PIngland did to restore our soils. 

The purpose of this book is to give the remedy and to 
prove that it is a sure and quick one. 



11 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Proem 9 

Ini roduction 10 

CHAPTER r. 
Soil 17 

CHAPTER II. 
Drainage 23 

CHAPTER III. 
Organic Matter 27 

CHAPTER IV. 
Soil Ventilation 33 

CHAPTER V. 
Plowing 37 

CHAPTER VI. 
Soil Covering 41 

CHAPTER VII. 
How to Get Organic Matter Into the Soil, Rye 45 

CHAPTER VIII. 
Hungarian 51 

CHAPTER IX. 
Sand, Winter or Hairy Vetch 55 

CHAPTER X. 
Vetch and Alfalfa 69 

CHAPTER XI. 
My Methods of Restoring Worn and Worn-Out Soils 73 

CHAPTER XII. 
King Corn 77 

CHAPTER XIII. 
The Culture of Corn 87 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Sweet Corn 93 

CHAPTER XV. 
A Chapter of Don't Forgets 101 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Conclusion 109 

13 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



Frontispiece. 

"The Ciearin' " 8 

The Original Soil Builders in the Timber Belt 16 

Nature's Plows and Cultivators at Winter Rest 36 

A Young Vetch Plant Showing Nitrogen Nodules on Its Roots. 44 

Vetch Plant Taken From Frozen Soil .54 

A Bunch of Vetch Taken From Under Ice and Water 58 

Vetch Plants Taken in Winter From High Sand Ridge 62 

Vetch Seed, Actual Size 68 

Vetch Seed, Magnified 72 

A Promising Field of Corn, Fertilized With Vetch 76 

A Promising Potato Field, Fertilized With Vetch 86 

1909 Chami)ion Ear of Corn 88 

1909 Champion Ears of Corn 91 

A Good Type of Sweet Corn Seed, Stowell's Evergreen 99 

The Farmer's Best Product if — 108 



]5 




The Original Soil Builders in the Timber Belt. 



CHAPTER I. 

Soil. 

Soil is defined as being' the upper stratum of the earth 
or that compound substance which furnishes nutriment 
to plants or whicli is particularly adapted to support and 
nourish them. 

Soil varies in dej^th from a few inches to several feet. 
Clay soils were produced b}' the wearing down and 
decomposition in part, of rocks containing aluminous 
minerals, as granite. Sand}' soil consists of fine particles 
of stone placed wdiere fotmd, by the washing of water. 
Muck soil is produced l)y the deca}' of large (luantities 
of vegetation. 

Clay and sandy soils were originally improved and 
made rich by the addition for centuries of vegetable 
matter such as leaves, weeds and other vegetation. 

We agree with him who said "that the condition of the 
soil is of more importance than its character." Any kind 
of soil, wdiether cla}', sandy or muck, can be made to 
produce large crops if put in proper condition. 

While it is true that clay or heavy soils have more of 
the elements of plant growth in them, yet sandy or muck 
soils by proper treatment will produce as much, if not 
more, than the clay or heavy soils. 

In life's battles the "knowing how" is the entering 
wedge that opens the way to success. So it is in the 
treatment of the soils, the "knowing how" to put them 
in condition is the secret of success in growing crops. 

17 



SOIL 

It is -appalling- in going over the country to see so 
many farmers so treating their lands as to bring them 
each day nearer the doom that hangs over all mistreated 
lands, "the abandoned farm." 

Not one farmer in ten is giving his land a chance. 
Not one in ten seems to know how to build up his soil, 
or if he does, he seems to be going on the principle that 
he can get enough from his land to support him during 
his lifetime and does not care for his posterity or future 
generations. 

He. is like an ex-governor of a great state who spent 
his declining days on the farm which before he died 
was in the worst condition of any in the neighborhood. 
People wondered why a man whose life and business in 
other lines had been so successful should allow his farm, 
upon which he was residing, to get in such condition. 
The go\ernor was interrogated regarding. the matter and 
replied, "I am not farming for future generations." 

But it is encouraging to see so many of our great finan- 
ciers, statesmen and people in the humbler walks of life 
becoming interested in soil restoration. Our agricultural 
schools are doing a noble work along this line. 

If it be true that the condition of the soil is of more 
importance than its character, then it is not necessary 
for us to go into the discussion of the relati\e value of 
the different kinds of soils, further than to say that some 
of the extreme sandy soils of Xew Jersey and Long 
Island have by proper treatment been transformed into 
the richest of soils; so have the sandy lands of Holland 
been made worth $3,000 per acre by proper treatment. 

After thorough study, backed up by actual experiment, 
we make the statement that most any sandy or clay soil 
can be made to yield 100 bushels of corn per acre. 

That this can be done, and done quickly, we have 
demonstrated by actual experiments. 

Three elements are necessary to make good soils — 
potash, phosphorous and nitrogen — and the last men- 

18 



SOIL 

tioned, according- to the best authority, is the "most 
precious, the most important and the most costly." 

It is said that "nitrogen promotes growth, phosphorous 
produces fruitfuhiess and early maturity, and potash in- 
creases quality." 

Most sand}\ clay or heavy soils contain sufficient pot- 
ash and phosphorous, but are wholly lacking in humus 
and nitrogen. 

One writer says that "corn, oats and wheat are made 
of plant food ; that they consist of ten certain elementary 
substances ; that a ton of corn contains a ton of these 
plant food elements, of which only three are secured by 
the corn plant from air and water. The seven are taken 
from the soil. The three elements make up more than 
ninety per cent of the corn, but the other seven are no 
less essential to plant growth." 

The se\'en elements mentioned and which make up but 
ten per cent of the corn crop, are generally found in 
sufficient (juantities in all soils to last from 500 to 17,600 
years. 

llie chief lack of worn-out soils is humus and nitrogen. 

Soils originally i)rocured their supply t)f humus and 
nitrogen from decayed vegetation secured in their prog- 
ress of formation. 

Go into the virgin forest such as once covered the 
middle west, and there are some such forests existing 
toda}', l:)ut the}' are not large, and }"ou will see between 
the trees the ground covered with decayed and decaying 
tree trunks and limbs and a heavy coating of leaves. 

This decaying of trees and leaves has been going on 
for hundreds of years, thus storing up a vast storehouse 
of the precious elements of rich soil. Is it any wonder 
then that lands when first cleared of the virgin forest 
v\-ere so rich ? 

Continued cultivation of cleared lands without the addi- 
tion of anything to reproduce these original elements has 
exhausted these elements from our soil, and until we can 

19 



SOIL 

get them back into the soil again, our lands lacking in 
these elements will become more worthless as the years 
go by. 

A\'hen we consider that it took centuries to put large 
quantities of nitrogen and humus into our soils, it seems 
an impossible task to get back into these soils again 
within a short time the quantities of nitrogen and humus 
that took so long to put there in the first instance. 

Barnyard manure will put these elements back into 
the soil quicker than any other known agency, Imt this 
remedy is impracticable to use on a large scale because 
sufficient quantities of manure cannot be obtained. 

Commercial fertilizer will not do the work for the chief 
reason that they do not contain the humus, and for the 
further reason that the mineral matter in the soil is suffi- 
ciently dissolved by coming in contact with water and 
moisture to furnish the needs of plant growth. This dis- 
solution is continued in sufficient amounts to keep up the 
necessary supply of minerals, and so the adding of com- 
mercial fertilizers will not, as a rule, add to the supply 
of plant food in the soil. 

It is said that there is enough nitrogen in the air over 
an acre of ground to grow 75 bushels of corn per acre 
per year for 600,000 years, but the nitrogen is of no value 
to the soil unless it is drawn into it from the air, so that 
the plant in the soil can assimilate it into its system and 
thus secure the element that makes vigor of growth. 

But soils need humus as well as nitrogen. 

We are hearing much of the "X'olusia soils," so named 
from a village in New York where first noticed. 

A writer speaking of these soils says: "They are worn 
and unproductive, extend from the Hudson river west- 
ward across the state through Pennsylvania into Ohio. 
Ten million acres, most part too poor to grow clover 
without fertilizers, are unfit for cultivation. They once 
produced good crops ; fine old houses and barns occupy 
them, which are now unoccupied. These lands dressed 

20 



SOIL 

with liberal quantities of stable manure produce good 
crops. It is said that if these soils are drained. su])plied 
with organic matter and their acidity corrected so that 
bacteria can thrive in them, they become again produc- 
tive. In fine, these soils need drainage, organic matter 
in the ft)rm of manure, green crops plowed under and 
application of lime. It is said that these lands cannot get 
manure because they will not support stock." 

Are not millions of acres of our soil in other great 
states of the L nion becoming A'olusiaized? And is not 
the secret of their restoration contained in the application 
to them of drainage and organic matter? 



21 



CHAPTER II. 
Drainage. 

No soil can be put in j^ood tilth without thorough 
drainage. 

As well tr}- to grow most crops with "wet feet" as to 
attempt to grow them on hot desert soils. In both in- 
stances they will die. because they are out of their proper 
environment. 

Moisture you nuist ha\e to grow crops, but moisture 
over-done, un-does. 

It is as necessary for plant roots to breathe as human 
beings ; shut off soil ventilation and you shut otT free 
oxygen from reaching the plant roots, and the plant dies. 

There can be no soil ventilation w'hen the soil is cold, 
compact and saturated with water. Hence the impor- 
tance of drainage, and thorough drainage. 

Drainage is of more importance to worn-out soils than 
it is to new soils. New soils are porous and water will 
easily percolate through them. 

Worn-out soils are hard, compact and non-porous. 
They are almost absolutely incapable of affording" ven- 
tilation to plant roots. 

Drainage is one of the most effective methods of get- 
ting this needful soil ventilation. 

The more drainage in w^orn-out soils the better; no 
matter whether water is on the land or not, put into 
them as much ditching as you can. There is no danger 
of getting too many drains. 

23 



DRAINAGE 

Ditches give the proper temperature to the soil, pro- 
motes soil ventilation and conserves soil moisture. 

Most heavy soils are compact and cold, the tempera- 
ture in them is too low, and the soil ventilation too in- 
adequate to be conducive to plant growrh. There is no 
room in them for plant roots to perform their proper 
functions. 

Lands improperly drained are slow in drying out, and 
seeding in them is delayed beyond the proper season for 
planting, thus giving a shorter growing season. 

It takes more labor to till cold, compact, non-drained 
soils. All kinds of soils are benefited by drainage. 

The greatest advantage to be obtained by plenty of 
drainage is the putting of the soil in that condition of 
porosity, deepness and pulverization as will prevent 
droughts as well as floods. 

In a thoroughly ditched soil, plant roots at once strike 
deep where they are safe from the onsets of the summer 
droughts. 

The experience of years has been that well-drained 
soils i)roduce better crops in wet or dry seasons than 
the undrained soils, and experience has also shown that 
worn soils cannot be reclaimed until they are first well 
ditched. 

In the light of this experience, I cannot too strongly 
impress upon ni}' readers that we must first thoroughly 
drain our soils if we would build them up to a fertile 
stage. 

All drains should be so constructed as to be open at 
both ends, as a drain so constructed will act like a 
chimney ; the air will go into one end and out the other, 
and the air thus passing through the drain in dry weather 
is condensed into moisture, which is thrown out into the 
soil, made porous by drain construction, and thus fur- 
nishes moisture to the plant roots. 

The source of all drains should terminate in some 
fence row close to the fence, the tile brought up to the 

24 



DRAINAGE 

surface of the ground and properly screened to prevent 
animals, weeds, sticks or foreign substances from enter- 
ing the drain. 

The mouth of drains should be kept open at all times 
and screened in the same manner. Such a ditch is the 
most valuable asset on the farm. 

Drains should be constructed of not less than six-incli 
tile, and need not ordinarily exceed four feet in depth, 
l)ut no fixed rule as to depth of drain can be given, as 
the undulating character of the soil and the outlet must 
govern the depth. \\'here lands are too deeply tiled 
there is likely to be a waste of water. 

In constructing drains, the idea of soil ventilation must 
be kept in mind, so it does not matter in all cases whether 
a drain will carry water or not ; it is useful if it only 
affords ventilation, provided both ends of the drain are 
open. 



25 



CHAPTER III. 
Organic Matter. 

It is of great importance to crop production that or- 
ganic matter be in the soil. 

I have shown why newly cleared soils were so rich in 
fertility — they are rich in organic matter. 

Good authorities say that humus in the soil absorbs 
three times as much water as its weight in clay, and 
retains it twice as long, and five times as much as sand 
and retains it five times as long. 

There is no danger of getting too much humus into 
the soil. An acre of land twelve inches deep weighs 2,000 
tons. It would take 100 tons of organic matter plowed 
under every two or three years to make one-twentieth 
part of the 2,000 tons. 

For a soil to be in its highest stage of fertility it must 
contain germ life and bacteria. These are always found 
in their greater abundance within the first six inches of 
soil, and they get their food from organic matter. 

As they cannot get any feeding matter from the min- 
erals of the soil, they cannot exist in any soil lacking in 
organic matter. 

In virgin soils they are found in abundance, where 
they reach their highest stage of development. 

This germ life and bacteria in the soil pla}' an impor- 
tant part in preparing the soil, or putting it in the proper 
condition for plant growth. 

They are the little constant workers in Nature's labor- 

27 



ORGANIC MATTER 

atory, that compound and distribute the substances 
needed for plant food. They cleanse the soil of its offen- 
sive accumulations and are one of the best aids to suc- 
cessful agriculture. 

It has been said that land without organic matter is 
but the skeleton of the soil, and that the organic matter 
makes the flesh. 

The system of farming in vogue in the L'nited States 
for the past one hundred years has farmed out of the soil 
most all the organic matter originally in them. It has 
stripped the body of its flesh and nothing but the skeleton 
remains. 

For instance, the average farmer will one vear plant a 
field in corn. The next season he will break, rake and 
burn every stalk and put it in corn again. In the fall he 
will sow wheat in the corn. The next season he will 
break the ground and put in wheat again ; perhaps he will 
sow clover in the wheat in the spring. If the clover is 
a good stand, the next season he will remove from the 
field not only the first clover crop but also the seed crop, 
and the following spring break up for corn again, and 
continue on and on this same process. 

This is regarded good farming. They tell us it is crop 
rotation, and builds up our farms. Yet I say to you, 
that under this very system our farms have grown and 
are growing poorer every year. That the organic matter 
in the soil is becoming less and less, and wdiy? Because 
not sufficient organic matter is being added to the soil to 
keep up the necessary supply. 

The corn stalks were in the majority of cases burned 
and destroyed ; the wdieat stubble with its roots was 
insignificant. Both crops of clover were removed, leav- 
ing nothing but the stubble and roots, which are insig- 
nificant. 

In all these years more organic matter was removed 
than added to the soil, and the supply of humus was 
gradually being exhausted. 

28 



ORGANIC MATTER 

What about the fields that ha\e been planted each 
year to corn for ten, fifteen, twenty and even seventy 
years, and stalks removed and burned each year? And 
what about the many fields rotated with corn, oats and 
wheat only, and the stalks and stubbles in most cases' 
burned? 

Vegetable matter destroyed by burning resolves into 
air from 90 to 99 per cent of its organic parts. 

If this be true, then the value of the ashes oljtained 
from burning vegetation is too small to be considered. 

Standing in the receding twilight of an April evening, 
I have seen the entire visible horizon of the famous 
Wabash A'alley aglow with the reflection from the fires 
of burning corn stalks, raked up into windrows, from 
thousands of acres of soil, that needed the humus, potash 
and nitrogen abounding in these stalks, but which was 
going up in smoke, to be lost forever to these acres of 
soil that are fast losing their fertility. As I looked upon 
this thoughtless and almost criminal destruction of soil 
fertility, I saw in my imagination pictured in the re- 
flected light upon the sky, pictures of "Agricultural 
Bankruptcy" and "Abandoned Farms."" and as I beheld 
this pictured doom of the American, farm, 1 exclaimed: 
When, oh when, will the American farmer come into a 
realization of this awful destruction of soil wealth? 

One day in the spring of 1909, while directing some 
work on my farm, I noticed to the north great clouds of 
smoke and flame covering a large area. I wondered 
what could be burning". The conflagration was too large 
for burning corn stalks or buildings. Later in the day 
I learned that a farmer (?) had touched a match to a 
forty-acre field of dry Big English clover grown on the 
ground the previous season and left uncut. 

W^hen I learned of this conscienceless destruction of 
soil fertility, I said in my wrath : The match in the hands 
of the American farmer is a menace to the farm. 

In the growing of this clover and leaving it uncut to 

29 



ORGANIC MATTER 

cover the ground through the leaching season of fall, 
winter and spring, this farmer had taken the first and 
an important lesson in soil restoration. But his second 
and best lesson was left unlearned. 

Think what it would have meant to that soil and that 
farmer had that splendid crop of organic matter, so full 
of the precious soil elements, nitrogen and humus, been 
turned under by the plow. 

Think how the little rootlets of the corn would have 
reveled in this mass of organic matter, mixed with the 
soil and drawing from it into the corn system those 
elements that make that sturdiness of growth that pro- 
duces a heavy paying crop on the farm. 

Again, think of the financial loss to that farmer from 
the destruction of the clover. For it has been estimated 
that the potash, phosphoric acid and nitrogen in a ton 
of clover hay is worth $17.57 ^oi' nianure. There was 
not less than a ton of clover hay on each acre of the 
forty-acre field, worth a total of $702.80 plowed under 
for manure. 

The farmer's only excuse for burning Avas that the 
clover was so heavy that it could not be plowed under. 
This we dispute. The right kind of a double-disc plow 
would have turned it under nicely. Of course the plow 
would have occasionally choked up, and it would have 
taken longer to plow the field, but it would have been 
well worth the time and extra labor, for the farmer 
would have secured for this field a fertility that would 
have yielded him large returns. 

The same excuse that this farmer made for burning 
tlie clover, is made for burning corn stalks; that is, they 
cannot l3e plowed imder so as not to interfere with the 
cultivation of corn and other crops. This we also dis- 
pute. \A> have turned under the rankest kind of growth 
of corn stalks that ne\er were pastured, with an ordinary 
walking plow and log chain. Of course, some stalks 
were left sticking out of the ground and in the cultiva- 

30 



ORGANIC MATTER 

tion of crops an occasional hill of corn was jerked out of 
the ground by the cultivator catching on the stalks in- 
sufficiently plowed under, but what of that? The loss 
of a few hills of corn is nothing compared to the great 
loss of the stalks if destroyed by burning. 

An instance is given of two farmers owning farms side 
by side, one of whom always gathered up his corn stalks 
and burned them. The other never allowed a stalk or a 
straw to be burned on his land. After fifteen years the 
former farmers' farm yielded fifteen bushels of corn less 
to the acre than when he first commenced farming ii, 
while the latter's farm produced as well as it did at the 
beginning of the fifteen }ears. 

One hundred bushels of corn contains about loo 
pounds of nitrogen, 17 pounds of phosphorous and 19 
pounds of i^otassium. 

The stalks upon which the 100 bushels of corn grew 
contain about 48 pounds of nitrogen, 6 pounds of phos- 
phorous and 52 pounds of i)otassium. All these elements 
in the stalks have a mone}' value of $11.04. 

These elements in the corn itself are lost to the soil if 
the corn be sold, but that in the stalks can be saved to 
the soil if the stalks are not burned but are plowxd under. 

In the black prairies of Illinois and Iowa and the rich 
ri\er l)ottom lands of Indiana are vast acres of land that 
used to produce an average crop of sixty or more bushels 
of corn to the acre. The average is now less than forty 
bushels to the acre. 

The virgin richness of these lands could have been 
continued simply by the plowing under of the corn 
stalks grown on them. 

The American farmer must learn the lesson of getting 
organic matter into his soil or his farm is doomed. 

Nature understood her business when she covered 
our lands with forests and the vast prairies with large 
growing grasses, so that the decay of tree trunks, limbs, 
leaves and grasses would intermingle with the sand and 

31 



ORGANIC MATTER 

the cla}' and thus produce the rich lands for the farmer, 
but the farmer has not learned the lesson that when he 
gets away from Nature's ways of soil building he is 
heading towards the doom of soil exhaustion. 

We are so apt to do things as our fathers did, forget- 
ting that our fathers lived under different environments 
than we do. 

The pioneer farmer had the soil in its original fresh- 
ness and had no need of building it up. It was rich 
enough. The children were by this pioneer, who was 
not bound by any necessity of a change of farming- 
methods, taught the simple lesson of farming" just as 
he did. 

But when the land fell into the inheritance of the 
children's children it had almost reached the point of 
soil exhaustion, and the children's children being bound 
with the cords of environment, lacked sufficient will or 
mental power to break them, and kept on farming as 
their fathers did, thus showing the great strength and 
influence of environment. 

It is said that in the magic transformation of dirt on 
the farm into dollars no one is robbed. True — if the 
one who touches the soil with the magic wand is not a 
soil robber. But the wand in the hands of a soil robber 
plunders all mankind alike, and as some one has said in 
thought. Mother Earth, resenting the infamy heaped 
upon her and her people, bears the pain in silence but 
inflicts the awful punishment that falls on all alike, by 
withdrawino' her bountv. 



32 



CHAPTER IV. 
Soil Ventilation. 

I have said something" of soil \entihiti()ii and that 
plants eannot thrive without it. I have also said that 
plant roots must breathe or the plant will die. 

If soil is so compact that air cannot enter it, the plant 
is injured as much as if it had no water. 

Entirely exclude oxygen from seeds placed in the soil 
and you get no growth. If you have some ventilation 
but not enough, then you lune the sickl_\- plant. It is 
said that "a plant lacking in root l)reathing is drowned 
as effectively as an animal would l)e under water, be- 
cause enough free oxygen cannot reach them." Insuffi- 
cient ventilation resulting from poor drainage destroys 
organic matter in the soil. 

Sufficient soil ventilation produces the necessary ni- 
trates in the soil and preA'ents their destruction as well. 

Air must penetrate deeply into the soil, and the pas- 
sage of the air must be both in and out of the soil. 

Soils underlaid with coarse gravel, sandy and light 
soils, are generally strong on ventilation, while compact 
clay and hea\'y soils are short on ventilation. 

Soil is said to be a living thing. But it is only alive 
when it is full of organic matter and porous veins, so 
that it can breathe from the air the gases needed by 
the plant root. 

Tuberculosis enters our insufficiently ventilated homes 

33 



SOIL VENTILATION 

and soil exhaustion enters upon the compact non-porous 
soils. 

We must ventilate our homes if we live, and this is as 
applicable to the soil as it is to man. 

Soil ventilation can be secured by drainage, deep till- 
age and plowing" in, of course, organic matter. Certain 
plants, like the alfalfa plant, penetrate their roots deep 
into the soil and when they decay leave openings into 
which air finds its way. Next to drainage, soil ventila- 
tion is best secured by the plowing under of heavy crops 
of organic matter, such as corn stalks, rye, vetch, buck- 
wheat, hungarian and clover. 

It must not be forgotten that a soil filled with water 
cannot possibly breathe, neither can a close, compact 
soil, so a soil may be fairly well drained and yet not be 
properly ventilated ; hence the need of organic matter to 
aid in soil ventilation. 

The necessity for soil ventilation is not only that oxy- 
gen may come in contact with the plant roots, but that a 
proper home may be established in the soil for the vast 
multitude of bacteria, so that they can perform their 
work of changing the nitrogen of decaying organic mat- 
ter into a form suitable for plant food. 

It seems that bacteria in the soil are affected by envi- 
ronment as well as man, so conditions of the soil will 
influence and modify their growth. 

Soil bacteria being essential to a good, living, working 
soil, then we can see the need of effective soil ventilation 
so that the soil may be put in that C(;ndition that these 
bacteria may best develop and flourish. 

When soil is in such condition it can be truthfully said 
that it is indeed a living thing and is only in the proper 
condition to give its best service in growing crops for 
the farmer. 



34 




Nature's Plows and Cultivators at Winter Rest. 

In the spring and growing seasons of the year if we could 
see into the soil covered with the forests, we would see the 
roots of trees shooting out and down into the soil as animated 
beings, and as they grow in size, we would see the soil loosened 
up by their action and the pushing this way and that way of the 
roots and rootlets stir the soil more effectively than if stirred by 
the plow. 



CHAPTER V. 
Plowing. 

That proper plowing- is one of the most important 
steps in soil building is apparent on close study. 

That soil is improved by stirring is a truth only denied 
by the ignorant and unobserving man. It is one of Na- 
ture's ways of aiding in soil building. The plows and 
cultivators of Nature are the roots of trees and plants. 

In the spring and growing seasons of the year, if one 
could see jnto the soil covered wMth the forests and vege- 
tation, he would see the roots shooting out and down 
into the soil as animated beings, and as they grow in 
size he would see the soil loosened up by their action, 
and the pushing this way and that way of the roots and 
rootlets stirs the soil more effectively than if stirred by 
the plow. 

This observation of one of Nature's ways shows the 
importance of soil stirring. 

I claim that soil should be stirred frequently. If it 
were possible to break up soils several times a year, their 
fertility would be increased. 

It is one of Nature's ways to be busy. She is never 
idle. Nature will not allow soil to be idle, except in the 
winter season. 

If soil is not occupied with growing crops, then Nature 
starts the weeds and grasses to occupy and cover the 
soil, and from this an important lesson is to be learned 
in successful soil cultivation. Keep your soil occupied 

37 



PLOWING 

with some useful crop. It takes as much plant food to 
grow weeds as to grow corn. Then why not plow or 
stir our ground after a crop is removed and plant to some 
crop of fertilizing value, and secure the great benefits of 
weed eradication, soil stirring, organic and fertilizing 
matter. 

It is said that "tillage is a manure," that "frequent till- 
age is our best and cheapest manure," that "tillage and 
manure are one and the same thing." 

Plowing and stirring the soil mixes the organic matter 
with the minerals in the soil, affords better ventilation, 
gives the soil better ability to store up and deliver mois- 
ture to the growing crops, and gives more room for the 
plant roots to perform their proper functions. 

There is a time to plow and a right and a wrong way 
to plow. 

The plowing or stirring of ground, no matter what its 
character, when too wet is a crime against Nature's laws, 
and punishment follows, quick and sure. 

The passing of the plow through the soil presses the 
soil grains together until the soil turned over becomes 
dense and impervious to water or plant roots. The soil 
thus turned over becomes like unl)urnt liricks dried in 
the sun, and ventilation is completely shut off. Its use- 
fulness as a home for plant roots is destroyed. 

And even if the surface soil be sufficiently dry but the 
sub-soil too wet, the passing of the plow through the soil 
will press the soil together under the plow and we get a 
compact stratum of earth below the top soil which will 
hold water above it and prevent moisture rising when 
needed. 

All this shows the im])ortance of plowing at the right 
time and with the right kind of plow. 

There has been great evolution in breaking plows ; we 
have many kinds and makes. The writer has tested all 
kinds and is convinced that the double-disc plow is the 
best of all. 

38 



PLOWING 

A disc plow will plow soil that no other plow will. It 
is the only plow that will successfully turn under corn 
stalks and heavy masses of organic matter. 

It pulverizes the soil as it turns it over, which no other 
plow will do, and its draft is lighter. 

I have plowed with a disc plow in the fall of the year, 
black gumbo soil so hard that a steel walking plow could 
not be made to enter into it, and I ha\e with a disc plow 
turned under weeds higher than the horses" backs so 
nicely that a single weed could n(^t be seen in the field. 
And with it I once turned under a field of hairy vetch, 
heavy in foliage, after having tried all other kinds of 
plows and failed to make theiu do the work. I once 
plowed a strip fifty feet in width around a ten-acre field 
and then finished breaking the balance of the field with 
walking plows. The field was planted in corn, and during 
the entire season the corn on the stri]) jjlowed with the 
disc plow was more thrift}- than the rest of the field and 
at least a foot higher. 

I have never solved to my satisfaction the ])roblem as 
to the proper dei)th to plow. In examining authorities 
and interviewing farmers, I find the opinions of men so 
varied on the subject that no reliable rule can be given 
which would be a safe guide in all cases. 

In my own case, I have always aimed to plow to an 
average depth of six inches, all soils not covered too 
heavily with organic matter or green crops. In plowing 
under green crops, corn stalks, weeds, etc., I have regu- 
lated the depth according to the luass of organic matter 
to be plowed under. 

I do not believe that deep plowing should ever be prac- 
ticed in the spring, but I have known deep fall plowing 
to be successful. 

I believe it was Poor Richard who said : 
"Plow deep while sluggards sleep, 
And you shall have corn to sell and keep." 

Ikit I fancy Poor Richard was simply writing poetry. 

39 



PLOWING 

Poetic license, you know, allows one to measure thought 
in verse although the truth sought to be conveyed be 
far-fetched. 

Drain well your soils, plant in them crops for green 
manures that send their roots deep down into the soil, 
then it will only be necessary to plow 3'Our soils deep 
enough to well cover the organic matter plowed under. 

Tull, an agricultural writer, claims that by thoroughly 
pulverizing the soil its fertility can be permanently 
maintained ; that by repeated plowing he produced 
twelve successive large crops of wheat on the same land 
without manure. 

Supplement TulTs system of frequent plowing and 
pulverizing the soil with the turning under of plenty of 
organic matter and you have the secret of building and 
keeping up the fertility of the soil. 



40 



CHAPTER VI. 
Soil Covering. 

Too much stress cannot be laid upon the importance 
of doing- that to your soil that will keep it covered during- 
the season of fall, winter and s]:)ring-. which is known as 
the leaching season. 

Terrific is the destruction each year to soil by leaching. 
Stand by our streams and rixers during their floodtide 
and see the thick consistency of their waters made so 
by the heavy rains that fall upon the soil, mixing and 
dissolving- its ])articles of dust and litter. 

Hillsides and valleys are swept of their soil by the 
rapid washing of the waters, which, as stated, occurs 
more frequently in the rainy season. 

Soils covered by, and filled with, close-lying herbage 
and thickly-rooted plants will not wash or w^ear away 
imder the action of falling water, neither will such cov- 
ered or root-filled soils be blown away by the winds. 

If an estimate could be made of the soil wealth carried 
away each year by the waters falling from the clouds 
and washing away over our fields into our streams and 
rivers to the sea, and by the blowing of the winds, it 
would be appalling. 

The remedy to check and preserve this flow of soil 
wealth to the sea, is keeping our soil, when not occupied 
by growing crops, covered as much as possible with the 
herbage and root-producing plants of rye, vetch, etc. 

Covering the soils with these crops prevents puddling 

41 



SOIL COVERING 

of the soil. The growing and decaying of the roots aids 
in depositing the minerals and in bringing about the 
changes characteristic of new soils. 

The open, mellow texture of the soil is produced by 
covering. 

Naked, clayey soils, subjected to excessive rains, fol- 
lowed by drying wnnds and rapid water evaporation, 
forces them to crack open and their texture is thus in- 
jured. If such soils are covered, they are not subject to 
this process. 

It has been observed that when soil is covered with 
any kind of close material for any length of time, it is 
so enriched that one would think manure had been 
applied to it. Even snow lying on the soil for months 
enriches it. 

I have already shown that the reason virgin soil was 
so rich was on account of the ages of covering Nature 
gave it. 

The secret of soil covering in promoting soil fertility 
lies in the fact that covered soil prevents ammonia w^astes 
from the soil by evaporation, and the loss of nitrogen. 

To preserve soil fertility, it must be kept covered as 
much as possible, yet the system of farming mostly in 
vogue in America is to strip the ground of every vestige 
of matter, expose it to the heat of the sun and the wash- 
ing of rains. 

Soil covering" is an importajit lesson we American 
farmers must learn. 

If after our helds of corn were laid by we would sow 
them in rve or vetch, and when corn is harvested roll 
down the stalks, all to be covered with the snows of 
winter, and no stock allowed to pasture upon them, what 
a wealth of fertility would be gathered under this cover- 
ing during the leaching season. 

What a mass of rich material to be plowed under to 
mix with the fertility produced by the covering during 
the season of rest. 

42 



SOIL COVERING 

But how does the axerage American farmer treat his 
cornfields? They are laid by without any green crop 
planted, the corn is gathered and then his herds of cattle 
and horses turned into them ; and the fields are stripped 
of their precious coat of organic matter, the soil is ruined 
by the tramping, puddling and exposure to washing rains 
and baking- sun. 

The only exception is when corn is followed l)y wheat, 
and then too often the fields are pastured to their great 
injury. If a farmer has a stack of straw, he will either 
burn it or sell it, instead of s])reading it on his soil, which 
would bring- him more money value than the few dollars 
he gets for it, and if he burns it he has gained nothing. 

I wish I could l)urn it into every American farmer, 
that he must co\er his snil if he would keep up or increase 
its fertility. 



43 




A Young Vetch Plant Showing Nitrogen Nodules on Its Roots. 



Taken from the soil January 20, 1910. Note large number of 
branches shooting out from main root stem. The stems were 
more than a foot in length. 



CHAPTER VII. 

How to Get Organic Matter Into the Soil. 

Seeing" the importance of drainage and soil \entilation, 
and that organic matter is an aid to both drainage and 
soil ventilation, then how can we get organic matter into 
the soil? 

Plowing- nndcr corn stalks, weeds and stubble is one 
of the ways, and none of this precious material should 
ever be destro_yed by the match. 

Blue grass or clover sod is always rich in organic 
matter, but are not always available on the farm. 

The best and ([uickest organic ])roduccrs on the farm 
are rye, hungarian and Actch. ^^'e will consider them 
in their order. 

Rye. 

Examine the rye plant and its roots in the early spring 
and you will find the soil completely covered with the 
foliage of the plant, and the soil for six or more inches 
in depth a perfect mass of roots. Plowing rye is like 
plowing grass sod. 

The rye plant covering the soil during the winter 
season prcA-ents the disastrous leaching that occurs on 
soils not covered. The foliage and roots give humus and 
ventilation to the soil. 

It is said on the best authority that green rye is equal, 
ton for ton, to stable manure, with one small exception. 

45 



PRODUCING ORGANIC MATTER— RYE 

Manure has half a pound of phosphoric acid per ton more 
than rye. 

In a ton of green rye there are eleven pounds of nitro- 
gen, four and one-half pounds of phosphoric acid and 
twelve and one-half pounds of potash. 

A ton of green clover contains only twelve pounds of 
nitrogen. 

Rye sown early in the fall will by May i produce five 
to fifteen tons of rye to the acre. This plowed under on 
that date would give you, compared to manure, a money 
value of $io to $20 per acre procured at an expense of 
less than $2 per acre. In addition to its manuring value, 
it can be grown at the time of the year when much of 
your soil is not occupied with other crops. 

It is a protection to fields liable to washing. It absorbs 
certain useful minerals and acids that otherwise would be 
lost to the soil. 

One writer, speaking of rye. says : "The labor of ap- 
plying evenly forty loads of manure per acre is consid- 
erable. All this is done more evenly by the green crop. 
Seed and labor together cost me but three dollars and a 
half per acre. I cannot say that it adds as much fertility 
to the soil as forty loads of manure, but I do say that in 
our droughty seasons it produces as great an increase of 
crop as do forty two-horse loads of good manure. It cer- 
tainly pays to practice it, and to practice it largely, even 
on the land well supplied with stable manure." 

In the fall of 1907 I planted rye in corn. The fall was 
the dryest we had had for years, but notwithstanding the 
extreme drought the rye made a splendid growth before 
winter and co\'ered the ground. Some of the rye was 
plowed under quite early in the spring, and some on high 
rolling ground was not plowed under until it w^as heading. 
The entire field was planted to sweet corn. In breaking 
the field the soil broke and turned over as a sod field 
would. The soil was loose and friable, and a splendid 
crop of sweet corn was grown. The corn grown on the 

46 



PRODUCIXG ORGANIC MATTER— RYE 

higher and rolling portion of the ground and which was 
plowed when the rye was in head produced more per acre 
than the remainder of the field, and yet this portion of the 
field was the poorest. 

I had another ten-acre field, which 1 also planted to 
rye in the fall of 1007. This field was subject to much 
washing, but the rye covered the ground so completely 
before winter that no portion of the field was washed. 
In the spring 1 early plowed this field and sowed it in 
peas for a canning factory. The peas were harvested 
July 7. 8 and 9. After the removal of the i)eas I disced 
the field and July 15 sowed to hungarian. September 6 
I began cutting the hungarian for hay. It produced 
three and one-half tons of splendid hay per acre, ecpial in 
feeding value to any hay, except alfalfa, grown on the 
farm. 

On the 20th of September with a disc wheat drill I 
sowed the field to rye without any preparation of the soil. 
By December i the field was a solid mass of green rye. 
This field I will break early in the spring and plant to 
field corn, and I know^ the field will be in splendid tilth 
for same. 

In growing r}e for fertilizing purposes most farmers 
make the mistake of jjasturing it too close in both fall and 
sprmg. In no case should it be pastured in the spring. 
Allow it to grow as long as you can. You cannot have 
too large a growth to plow under. Some mav tell a'ou 
that if you allow it to get too large and plow it under it 
will so dry out the soil as to injure the growing crop. 
But do not believe it. Heavy vegetation plowed under 
is a conservator of moisture. 

Some will also tell you that it sours the soil. Your 
soil is sour only when it is cold, wxt, non-ventilated and 
unproductive. Ditch and get the water out of it, plow 
into it large quantities of vegetable matter and thus start 
up the circulation of air into it, and it becomes warm and 
sweet. 

47 



PRODUCING ORGANIC MATTER— RYE 

Soil is never soured by plowing under green crops if it 
is well drained. 

Next to draining and ventilating, sour soil needs feed- 
ing organic matter. A fertile soil is never sour. 

While rye is one of the most valuable of forage plants, 
yet it is equally as valuable for fertilizing purposes. If 
your soil needs cleaning, sow rye. It gathers food in the 
soil and makes fine growth on poor soils. It is especially 
adapted to sandy lands and will grow well on stiff clay 
lands if they are well drained. 

The author knows of a farm that has been restored 
and built up with rye until it produces the best corn crops 
of any farm in the neighborhood. The owner always 
sows rye for plowing under for his corn crop. 

His rye crops plowed under helped his land in holding" 
moisture in dry seasons, which, as I stated, is contrary to 
general belief. 

The farmers have a wonderful weapon in rye to aid in 
combating soil exhaustion, and it is so easily and cheaply 
grown. From one to two bushels of seed at a cost of 
from 70 cents to $1 per bushel will seed an acre, and the 
labor of seeding in corn or after wheat is insignificant. 

A\"e who are sentimentally inclined delight in the melo- 
dies of the Scottish love lyric, "Comin' lliro' the Rye," 
humming its words: 

"If a body meet ;i body, comin' thro' the rye. 
If a body kiss a body, need a body cry?" 

AA'e wonder whether the Scottish bard was singing of 
the rye plant or of the River Rye and its stepping-stones 
o'er which the Scottish maidens were wont to pass, for if 
he was singing of the rye plant we can |)icture in our 
imagination the lovely scene of a field, rich in the beau- 
tiful growth of the majestic, blooming rye plant, whose 
foliage hid the blushes of the Scottish maiden when met 
by her stalwart lover, "Comin' Thro' the Rye,"' who 
claimed the coveted. kiss. 

48 



PRODUCING ORGANIC MATTER— RYE 

But we who have no sentiment in our hearts and look 
only to the material worth of things, can find in the rye 
plant those elements of plant food that quickly and 
cheaply build up our soils to the highest and best fer- 
tility. 

We so little appreciate the good things that God has 
provided for our welfare, and rye is one of the least ap- 
preciated crops on the farm. Aside from its great feed- 
ing- value, it is one of the best soil builders, and is always 
so available and so willing- to respond and give its best 
service to us under the varied conditions of soil, weather 
and seasons. 



49 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Hungarian. 

Hungarian is another one of the most valuable and less 
api)reciate(l erops of the farm. I^^)r feeding;- jmrpcTses. for 
1)(ith cattle and horses, I rank it above clover or timothy 
hay. It is said to injure horses. .\ greater fallacy never 
existed. Cut just when the seed has formed, no injury 
results from feeding- in any quantity. I have fed it for 
years to the best of horses, and they relished it and 
thri\ed ujxin it. It is the cpiickest and cheajjest hay crop 
grown. It can be sown in July after a wheat, oats or pea 
crop has been removed, and in eight weeks or less a crop 
of ha}' can l)e gathered making from two to four tons to 
the acre, and after the removal of a crop of hungarian 
the land can be seeded to rye or wheat. 

I ha\'e heard it said that it is a soil robl)er. I ha\'e not 
f(mnd it S(^. 

A ton of hungarian extracts from the soil but eight 
])Ounds of nitrogen and eight pounds of potash more than 
a ton of green clover extracts from the soil. 

For loosening up the soil nothing" equals it. 

Last season I had a field in corn, one-half of which the 
previous season had been in hungarian for hay, and there 
was no difiference in the yield of the corn, but that ]:)art 
of the field previously- in hungarian was more easilv cul- 
tivated. 

Farniers will condemn hungarian without foundation, 
and say that it is a robber of the soil, and yet raise year 

51 



HUNGARIAN 

after year timothy, which I say and can prove is the 
meanest soil robber on the American farm. Mean, be- 
cause I know of no more certain way to hasten the total 
exhaustion of the soil than to grow timothy year after 
year. On my farm I shun it as I would a rattlesnake. 
It takes six years of the best of treatment to rebuild soil 
upon which timothy has been grown for three or four 
years. 

I know of fields, once rich, almost utterly made unfit 
for the growing of crops by the growing of timothy on 
them for a great number of years. 

If I was forced to buy hay, I would rather pay $20 per 
ton for timothy hay than grow it on my farm. But I 
have digressed. I was to say something of the value of 
hungarian as a producer of organic matter. 

It is said that a ton of hungarian in blossom contains 
tw^enty pounds of nitrogen, fi^•e and one-half pounds of 
phosphoric acid and se\'enteen pounds of potash. 

It takes from one to one and one-half bushels of seed 
to sow an acre, worth generally from $1.50 per bushel, or 
$1.50 to $2.25 per acre. If but three tons of hungarian 
to the acre is grown and same is plowed under, you get 
60 pounds of nitrogen to the acre. It will take six tons 
of barnyard manure to produce 60 pounds of nitrogen, 
and six tons of manure is worth not less than $1.50 per 
ton, or $9. 

In addition to the large amount of nitrogen and potash 
in a ton of hungarian, think of the vast quantities of 
organic matter to plow under and available as humus, 
and for loosening up the soil and for soil ventilation. 

If hungarian is used as a plowing under crop, I would 
advise sowing it after the wheat or oats crop is gathered, 
discing or plowing the ground deep, then when hun- 
garian is in blossom and before the seed has matured, 
plow under five or six inches deep and sow to rye. You 
then have the advantage of from two or three plowings 
of the soil during a season, which I have shown to be a 

52 



HUNGARIAN 

manuring' in itself, as "tillage is a manure." Your soil is 
also covered during the leaching season, and has in the 
spring another valua]:)le soiling crop for plowing under 
By a little hustling a crop of hungarian could be sown 
after wheat, plowed under in time to sow wheat in the 
fall and which would be of immense value to the wheat 
crop. 



53 




Vetch Plant, grown from seed planted August, 1909; taken 
January 20, 1910, from hard frozen soil, which had been subjected 
to a temperature of 17 degrees below zero. The plant was fresh 
and green, showing no effects of the severe freezing. 

Note the large four-pronged nodule on end of main root 
stem. On account of hard, frozen ground, most of the roots of 
the plant were broken off in getting it from the frozen soil. 



CHAPTER IX. 
Sand, Winter or Hairy Vetch. 

Four years ago the author purchased a farm that had 
the reputation of being one of the poorest in the country. 
It had been kicked and buffeted about as trading stock. 
Each owner no sooner got into possession of it when he 
found he had purchased a "gold brick," and never rested 
until he succeeded in unloading it upon some other vic- 
tim. It never seemed to occur to any of its owners that 
the farm had simply been handled by soil robbers and 
was paying the penalty by withdrawing its bount}'. 

The author purchased this farm because of its cheap- 
ness, location and possibilities, and w'as given the laugh 
for so doing. 

The character of the soil and lay of the land is peculiar. 
One-third consists of deep yellow sand, placed in ridges, 
no ])ortion of any extent being level. One-third is level, 
sandy loam and the other third black Wabash l)ottom 
land. 

The entire farm in its early history w^as covered with 
large walnut, poplar, oak and other timber, the timber 
on the sandy land having been as heavy as on the other 
portion of the farm. The land was a portion of an Indian 
reserve, set apart by the government to the Indians in 
1818 and by the Indians sold in 1833. and w^as cleared 
more than sixty years ago, and for many years produced 
large crops. It had always been farmed upon the prin- 
ciple of getting out of it all you can each year and put- 

55 



SAND, WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH 

ling- nothing- back into the soil. Under this system of 
farming- the sandy or two-thirds portion of the farm had 
become so poor that in the best season it produced but 
15 to 20 bushels of corn, 5 to 10 bushels of oats and 10 
bushels of wheat to the acre. Some seasons corn, oats 
and wheat were an entire failure. Even the black bottom 
portion was farmed in corn year after year until the yield 
fell to less than 40 bushels to the acre. In fine, the farm 
was just on the borderland of the abandoned farm. 

As the author has been up against many of the hard 
propositions of life, it did not take him long to learn that 
in acquiring this farm he had tackled more than he had 
anticipated. He was like the Indian who was being- 
worsted in a hand-to-hand conflict and who exclaimed, 
"Me in a heap big fight." 

To reclaim this land, the author soon realized, would 
require some work and study. 

The first season he planted the sandy portion to early 
peas for canning purposes. Seven weeks of dry weather 
reduced the crop to a money value of $10 per acre. Upon 
the removal of the peas the land was disced and planted 
in sweet corn before June 25. The sweet corn brought a 
money value of $15 per acre. 

Various crops were grown on the farm the first season, 
to-wit : Peas, sugar corn, canning beets, field corn, to- 
matoes and potatoes. Some commercial fertilizer and 
manure was used ; the commercial fertilizer with little or 
no success. 

Had it not been for twenty acres of late peas sown on 
the bottom lands that brought a money value of $75 per 
acre, the farm the first year would not have paid expenses. 

But the author was not discouraged. He was con- 
stantly studying conditions and looking about for some- 
thing and some method by which the soil of his farm 
could be rebuilt. 

One day during the first summer he received through 
the mail a catalogue of a seed house, and in turning its 

56 



SAND, WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH 

pages his eyes caught the words "Sandy \'etch." The 
fact that he owned some sand that was then the uj)per- 
most subject in his mind no doubt had something- to do 
with arresting his eyes upon the words. 

Reading the description in the catalogue of this plant, 
which said that "Sand \>tch was becoming more pop- 
ular with the farmers of the country as they learned more 
of its value ; that it was noted for its extreme hardiness, 
its value as a cover crop and for forage and fertilizing 
purposes; that it was especially recommended for poor 
soils where it thrives wonderfully and improves the soil, 
being rich in nitrogen," the author began to "sit up and 
take notice." 

It did not take him long to learn that he was interested 
and intensely interested. But when he read further that 
"the Washington Department of Agriculture estimated 
the value of an acre of vetch plowed under as ecjuivalent 
to putting into the ground twenty or forty dollars' worth 
of commercial fertilizer," he l^ecame enthusiastic. He 
was ready to shout at the top of his voice "Eureka !" But 
he read on until he came to where the description said : 
"It is suited to any soil, and is valuable in this respect, as 
it ])roduces good crops on poor sandy soils, while on good 
land it grows to a height of four or five feet and produces 
enormous crops." 

This was enough. He was convinced that he had been 
rewarded in his search, and had indeed found the precious 
alchemic soil-enriching art for which he had been search- 
ing, and immediately sat down with "pen in hand" and 
ordered seed enough to ?ow two acres. Yes, two whole 
acres ! 

.\nd now, in the light of four years' experience with 
this valuable plant, the author smiles when he thinks 
that, being up against one of the hardest propositions of 
his life, and having placed in his hands the ve4-y thing 
that would overcome it, he only had nerve enough to 
order enough vetch seed to plant two acres, for had he 

57 




A bunch of Vetch taken from under ice and water, which had 
been standing on same for three weeks, in January, 1910. The 
plants were bright and green and showed no injury. 



SAND, WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH 

possessed the nerxe t(. ha\e ordered enough to plant his 
entire farm, and then the following- spring planted the 
same in held corn, as subsequent experience demon- 
strated, he would lia\e received from the corn crop the 
])urchase price of the farm. 

In due time the seed was recei\-ed. and in August it- 
was ])lanted upon the pcjorest and most rolling two acres 
of sand land on the farm. It grew rai)idl}-, and l)y \\inter 
the ground was so completely covered with its foliage 
that washing of the land was entirely pre\ented. An 
examinati(;n of the roots showed them set thick with 
nitrogen nodules. h'arl_\- in the spring", before any other 
kinds of grass or vegetation began to grow, the A'etch 
plants were ]mshing out their summer foliage, and by 
May I they were four feet in length, .\bout the hrst of 
June the two acres were cut for hay. 

The author saw clearly that he had found a \-aluable 
plant for the farni. yet exemplihed usual caution by plant- 
ing only 25 acres of vetch in August of 1907. the sowing; 
being on the poorest and sandiest land of the farm, 21 
acres in one field and four in another. It was decided to 
seed the 21 acres to field corn and leave the other for 
pasture. TJoth grew luxuriantly. 

The spring of 1908 was \-ery wet, and it was ]\Iay i 
before the ground was in condition to break for corn. 
Delays were such that the 21-acre held was not entirely- 
broken until May 25. The vetch had grown to a height 
of five feet, and the mass of vegetation was so heavy that 
it was almost impossible to turn it under. A half dozen 
makes of plows were tried with ccnnplete failure, when 
finally success was obtained with a double disc plow, and 
the field was finished. The prospect did not look invit- 
ing, for bunches of vetch showed here and there sticking 
out of the ground. The field was worked down to fairly 
good condition for planting by dragg-jng- and rolling, and 
on June 3 and 4 was planted to yellow corn. 

Dire were the predictions made as to the outcome. 

59 



SAND, WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH 

Many contended that the heavy mass of vegetation would 
absorb all the moisture from the ground and the corn 
would perish. And it cannot be said that the author was 
fairly hopeful. But he gritted his teeth, held his counsel 
and awaited results. The corn came up a splendid stand. 
Dry weather set in, which added no little discomfort to 
the situation. The corn grew slowly, and as soon as it 
was sufificiently large the cultivators were set to work, 
and were worked with a little difficulty on account of 
bunches of the vetch insufficiently plowed under catching- 
on the cultivator points. 

It was amusing to hear the side remarks of the men 
working the cultivators, which would indirectly come to 
the author's ears. 

One day, when the corn was receiving its first plowing, 
two hardware men from the city came out to set up and 
start working a new two-row cultivator. When they 
were taken to this field disgust was plainly shown upon 
their countenances. One of them, after the corn grown 
in this field had been harvested, told the author that when 
he first looked upon the field he said to himself that in all 
his forty years' experience as a farmer and seller of agri- 
cultural tools he had never seen so unpromising a pros- 
pect for corn as this field presented. 

As stated, the weather was dry, and the corn grew^ five 
or six inches high, and made no further growth for more 
than a week, when it seemed to take on new life, and then 
how it did grow ! Aly, the pride the author did take in 
that field of growing corn ! How it sparkled his eyes 
and swelled his pride to look upon it ! He felt the glory 
of having done something worth while. The neighbors 
and travelers along the highway began to take notice as 
the corn grew and grew like Jack's famous bean stalk. 

The corn, notwithstanding the rolling and hilly charac- 
ter of the field, was of the same height, every hill alike, 
and of the dark green color indicating the healthy growth 
of corn. 

60 



SAND, WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH 

When the corn reached waist height the prophets who 
had precHcted its nntimel}' demise on account of the great 
mass of vetch turned under said: "Wait until it begins 
to ear, and then you will see it hre and wither up." 

But the corn grew up and up until it reached the 
height of eight to ten feet, silked, tasseled, and bore its 
tars of golden corn. 

It was subject to six weeks of dry weather after it had 
silked, and yet it had not fired and every hill was bright 
and green. The neighbor's corn opposite and across the 
public highway fired clear above the ears of corn, and did 
not make 20 bushels to the acre. 

Residents of the county not accpiainted with what had 
been done to the field, who had been passing this field 
for twenty years or more, attracted by the remarkable 
growth and condition of the corn, would stop, get out of 
their vehicles and go over into the field to examine it, and 
then stop at the house and inquire what had been done to 
the soil to cause such a growth of corn, saying that "they 
had never known this field to have upon it a crop of corn 
of any value ; that corn on this field was almost invaria- 
bly a failure." 

The corn finally reached its harvesting stage, sound and 
solid. It was gathered, hauled to market, and made by 
weight 72 bushels to the acre, and brought a money value 
of $35 per acre. 

The planter used to plant the corn was set to drop 
three grains to the hill, and never missed putting three 
grains in the hill, but too often dropped four grains, 
which made the corn too thick, and this condition fully 
reduced the yield ten or more bushels to the acre. But 
think of 72 bushels of corn being grown on land that had 
not for twenty or more years produced more than 20 
bushels to the acre, and this feat accomplished in so short 
a time and with so little expense, as the cost of the seed 
was but $3.50 per acre. 



61 




Vetch plants, taken January 20, 1910, from top of high sand 
ridge, exposed to winter winds, which kept the ridge bare of 
snow. These plants had been subjected to a temperature of 17 
degrees below zero, without any snow covering, and showed no 
effects of the weather they endured. 



SAND, WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH 

This experiment with \etch made the author a vetch 
enthusiast. 

In August of the year 1908 he planted thirt}- acres, and 
notwithstanding the extreme (h'v fall, there having beei: 
no rain for eight weeks after it w'as sown, it grew nicely. 

In the spring' ten acres of it was plowed for" field corn, 
seven or eight acres for potatoes, and the l)alance for 
sweet corn. 

The illustratidu in the front of tliis book shows a view 
of the poorest part of the field nf corn taken September 7. 
1909. 

Upon this particular spot of ground shown in the pic- 
ture corn had ne\"er g'rown to exceed a height of four or 
hxe feet, with a correspondingly poor yield. Here the 
\etch was the heaviest, being four or five feet in height 
when i)lowed under in the middle of May. The soil on 
this particular sj^ot is a sandy clay, the remainder of the 
field is a black gumbo soil ; the whole having been farmed 
for a half century with a rotation of corn, oats and wheat. 
a greater majorit}- of the years in corn, and every year 
the corn stalks were burned. In recent years the yield of 
corn had been from almost a failure to 40 bushels to the 
acre. The yield after the vetch was nearly 90 bushels to 
the acre of large, splendid wdiite corn — an increase over 
former years of over 100 per cent. The cost of \etch 
seed for this field was $3 per acre. 

The author's brother is the owner of a farm the soil of 
wdiich is clay underlaid with a gra\elly sub-soil. When 
first cleared, more than sixt}- years ago, it was rich and 
produced enormous crops. Fifty years in the hands of 
tenants, with an insufiicient soil-building material added 
to it, reduced the yield of corn to less than 30 bushels to 
the acre. In the fall of 1908 fifty acres of this land was 
planted to vetch. The extreme dry fall made the seed 
come up slow and uneven, and only a fair growth was 
obtained before winter. At plowing time the following 
spring a fair crop of vetch was plowed under and forty 

63 



SAND, WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH 

acres planted to field corn. The crop gathered from the 
field corn produced over 70 bushels of corn to the acre — 
an increase of over 100 per cent. 

Ten acres were plowed under and the ground cultivated 
until June, when it was planted to alfalfa, about which we 
will speak later. Another vetch enthusiast was added to 
the list. 

Both author and brother have at this writing ( Decem- 
ber 20, 1909) vetch growing" on their farms, sowed in the 
open and in corn, that covers the ground like a thick 
velvet carpet. 

The author's experience with vetch for potatoes and 
sweet corn has been as successful as it has been with 
field corn. Sweet corn has been grown after vetch on 
poor soil that produced from 4^ to 5 tons to the acre — 
a money value of $36 to $40 per acre. In 1909 one and 
two-fifths acres of potatoes planted after vetch on soil de- 
ficient in fertility produced nearly 450 bushels, and pota- 
toes planted after vetch on some of the sandiest land on 
his farm produced at the rate of 150 bushels to the acre, 
and double the amount of potatoes grown side by side on 
the same soil after crimson clover plowed under. 

No doubt the question suggested to the reader's mind 
is. Why is vetch of so much value as a soil or fertilizer 
crop? The question may be answered with a few words. 
It is the greatest nitrogen-gathering and humus-produc- 
ing plant found in nature's garden. 

We believe it to be true as holy writ that for every 
disease of the human body nature has a remedy if man 
can only find it, and that for every disease of the soil there 
is a remedy to be found in the plant, mineral or animal 
kingdom, and it is up to man to find and apply it. 

If soil was originally built up by mixing vegetable 
matter with disintegrated minerals and stones, then why 
can it not be kept built up by the same process? 

Under Southern European skies vetch is supposed to 
have had its birth. In all Europe it is cultivated for 

64 



SAND, WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH 

forage purposes, it being- regarded as equal to clover in 
nutritive qualities. Sown in late summer or early au- 
tumn, it is harvested the next year. If in the spring, it 
is cut the same year. 

The American farmer, slow or overly cautious in try- 
ing the unknown, has rarely cultivated it. As stated, it 
is an annual plant, and must be seeded each year, although 
it readily reseeds itself, as I have pastured it with cattle, 
taking the cattle from it as it began to seed, and then 
allowed the seed to ripen and fall upon the ground, disc- 
ing the field thoroughly, and the seed came up. giving 
me a fine stand. 

Vetch being rarely cultivated in America, the supply of 
seed is, as a conseciuence, procured in Europe and im- 
ported to this country at a cost to the farmer of 6^/2 to lo 
cents per pound f. o. b. shipping station. 

Fifty i)()unds of seed to the acre is the right quantit}- 
to plant. 

In corn 1 sow the seed with a one-horse hoe or disc 
wheat drill. In the open I sow with a two-horse drill. 
The feed gauge of the average one or two-horse drill en- 
tirely shut ofif sows just 50 pounds to the acre. 

If vetch is sown for seed, there must be sowed with it 
about one peck of rye to the acre. The rye holds up the 
vetch so it can be easily harvested. The plant is a trail- 
ing one, and hence is hard to har\est unless it has a plant 
sown with it to support it. 

\Mien seed is ripe, cut and thresh with ordinar}^ 
threshing machine and separate seed with fanning mill. 

Seed for planting can be procured from most any seed 
house. 

The reader must bear in mind that the author is writ- 
ing about Sand, Winter or Hairy Vetch. He knows 
nothing about other varieties, which no doubt are valu- 
able, but the author has not tried them. 

The vetch plant has a mass of roots penetrating the 
soil to a considerable depth. The roots are always full 

65 

5 



SAND, WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH 

of nodules, the homes of the bacteria that obtain their 
food from the nitrogen of the air, and which it is claimed 
collect more nitrogen than they need, which surplus is 
stored into the soil. 

The clover, alfalfa and pea plants and other plants of 
the legume family are considered valuable to the soil be- 
cause of their nitrogen-gathering powers, they having 
these nodules on their roots ; but a vetch plant will have 
ten nodules on its roots where these other plants have 
one. 

The vetch roots are so numerous in the soil that it will 
plow up like a heavy sod. The foliage of the plant is so 
massive that it produces from twelve to twenty tons to 
the acre. There is no plant of the nitrogen-gathering 
species that produces such a quantity of organic matter 
for plowing under as is furnished l)y the vetch plant. 

W hen plowing up the 21-acre held mentioned in the be- 
ginning of this chapter the next spring after the large 
corn crop had been grown, the author observed that the 
corn roots had pushed their way down into the mass of 
vetch plowed under, and had interlaced themselves 
around the vetch stems until the whole mass had been 
knitted together, and, the plow turning it on top of the 
furrow, it looked like sheep skins spread out on the 
ground. On exposure to the air the mass fell into small 
pieces. 

This observation proved to the author that the corn 
roots had found in this mass of vegetable matter a great 
feeding ground, where both feed and moisture was found 
in abundance for the feeding of the corn plants. 

After four years' experience with it 1 am convinced 
that the claim of the Agricultural Department that an 
acre of it plowed under is equivalent in xalue to twenty 
to forty dollars is not extravagant. 

It is the greatest soil builder ever discovered, alfalfa 
not excepted. With it and ditching I can reclaim an\- 
poor or worn-out soil. With it the American farmer can 

66 



SAND, WINTER OR HAIRY VETCH 

make his soil produce as it has never prochiced since it 
was rescued from the wilderness. 

Vetch is the remedy for clover-sick soil. If alfalfa is 
the most valuable forage plant ever discovered, vetch is 
the most valuable fertilizing plant ever discovered. 

Vetch builds on its roots so many pretty little homes 
for the busy nitrogen-gatherers, who so mysteriously 
draw from the great storehouse of nitrogen situated in 
the air above the soil great cjuantities of the precious, 
most valuable acquisition to the soil, nitrogen. 

Vetch is no respecter of soils. It settles down and 
makes its home with the rich or poor clay as well as the 
rich t)r poor sand, and commences its business of soil 
restoration at once. It has no terrors of frost or drought. 
\\'inter will grasp it with its hand and hold it in its icy 
grasp for months and UKniths, and when the warm sun- 
shine of spring releases it, it smiles with its freshness of 
green and continues doing business at the old stand. The 
drought of fall, spring or summer will blow its oven 
breath upon it, but it heeds it not. and continues its busi- 
ness of storing fertility in the soil as though it was be- 
ing constantly caressed wnth refreshing showers. 

It finds the soil sick, impoverished and dying. It 
touches it with its restoring power, and under its stimu- 
lating touch the soil awakens with new and renewed life, 
pouring out its wealth of plant growth that ripens into 
food for beast and man. 

It will 3'et enter upon the al)andoned farm, banish the 
desolation of the fields, fill the unoccupied farm house 
and barns with the songs of happy, prosperous parents, 
the laughter of children and the riches of fertile fields. 

All hail King A'etch, Nature's greatest soil restorer! 



67 



ftitHtff 

f t t f t f t t 



Vetch Seed Actual Size. 

Top row, Sand, Winter or Hairy Vetcli. 

Bottom row, Spring Vetcli. 

Tire Sand, or Winter Vetch seeds are round, liard and of a 
bluish black color and size of No. 2 and No. 3 shot. 

The Spring Vetch seeds are a third larger than the Winter 
Vetch; in color are gray mottled, and are not round but some- 
what flattened. 



CHAPTER X. 
Vetch and Alfalfa. 

The value of alfalfa on the farm cannot be estimated. 
No plant has so many uses. If the corn plant should be- 
come extinct, alfalfa could take its place, fill every want 
that corn supplies, and yet its storehouse of utility would 
still be overstocked. 

The usefulness of the alfalfa plant has been so beauti- 
fully and eloquently pictured by the great alfalfa apostles 
and experts, Colburn, Clothier and Wing, that we feel 
that were we to enter the field of alfalfa picture-painting 
our efforts would be in vain. 

But, considering the great usefulness of this plant, it is 
astonishing that the American farmer grows so little of it. 
It cannot be on account of ignorance, for the American 
farmer is surely enlightened upon the subject of alfalfa 
growing. It must be the habit of farming "just as father 
did," or the slowness of taking on the new or unused 
thing, that keeps the farmer from planting alfalfa on liis 
farm. 

However, I find on inquiry some farn^ers say that the 
reason they do not grow it is because it is hard to get it 
started ; that it requires so much labor and patience to get 
the proper stand and start. Whether there is any truth in 
this I am not prepared to say, but I do say that with 
vetch I can start alfalfa on almost any soil that is prop- 
erly drained. 

Authorities on alfalfa will tell you that the alfalfa plant 

69 



VETCH AND ALFALFA 

when first started must get its nitrogen, which is neces- 
sary to its Hfe, from the soil ; that after the plant is well 
established it draws its supply of nitrogen from the air. 
That for this reason you must have your soil innoculated 
with nitrogen-gathering bacteria, and have plenty of 
nitrogen in the soil, or you cannot get the alfalfa plant to 
establish itself. Then, this being true, some method must 
be used to secure the supply of nitrogen and nitrogen- 
gathering bacteria in the soil intended for the alfalfa 
field. Various methods of doing this are given by alfalfa 
experts, such as soil innoculation by taking soil from 
alfalfa fields and spreading upon the field before sowing 
the alfalfa seed, heavy manuring, sowing alfalfa meal 
with the seed, and feeding alfalfa hay to stock a year be- 
fore alfalfa is planted and using the manure on the field. 

My experience with vetch has demonstrated that for 
starting alfalfa, vetch, on account of its nitrogen-gather- 
ing qualities, has all other methods of soil innoculation 
beaten to a finish. 

I spoke of ten acres of alfalfa planted in June, 1909, 
by my brother on clay land. This field has been cleared 
for more than sixty years and farmed almost to its death. 
As stated, it was planted to vetch in August of 1908, and 
plowed under in May, 1909, before it had ripened its 
seed. The weeds were kept down by frequent cultiva- 
tion until the middle of June, when alfalfa seed was sown 
at the rate of twenty pounds to the acre. In four weeks 
the alfalfa was six or eight inches in height, and was 
clipped with the mower, clippings left lying on the 
ground. In five weeks it was clipped the second time. 
On December 3 I examined this field, and it was green 
and a splendid stand, and promised to be a fine alfalfa 
field. 

August 16, 1909, I planted fourteen acres of alfalfa on 
the sandiest portion of my farm that had formerly been in 
vetch, and in five weeks it was six inches high and a 



70 



VETCH AND ALFALFA 

splendid stand. The field was clipped, and it has gone 
into winter in splendid shape. 

From all this I conclude that vetch is indeed a valu- 
able plant for preparing the way for alfalfa. . 



71 




Winter and Spring Vetch Seed Magnified Several Times. 



Top row, Winter Vetch. 
Bottom row, Spring Vetch. 



CHAPTER XI. 
My Method of Restoring Worn and Worn-Out Soils. 

If I had placed in niy possession worn or worn-out 
soils at the beginning- of the present year of 1910, I would 
proceed to restore them in the following manner: 

If I lived in the vicinity of a canning factory that 
canned peas and sugar corn. I would first see that the 
soil was thoroughly ditched; then I would plow it as 
early in the spring as possible and plant to early peas. 
The crop ought to be ready to remove by June 15. I 
ha^'e removed them June 10. 

Immediately after the peas were harvested, I would 
have the ground thoroughly disced and planted to sugar 
corn. This crop should be well cultivated and kept clear 
of weeds. 

If the soil was much worn it is probable you would 
only receive from the crop of peas and sugar corn enough 
money to pay expenses, but you would be well started on 
the road of soil restoration, and that start must be made. 

Early in August I would plant in the sugar corn either 
vetch or rye. My preference would be vetch always. 

Under no circumstances would I pasture the stalks of 
sweet corn, although they are of great value for this pur- 
pose, but you must remember that yoti are engaged in 
the business of soil-building, so do not let greed get the 
upper hand. Leave the stalks alone for plowing under 
with the vetch. 

In the spring of next season, about the ist of May, I 

73 



RESTORING WORN AND WORN-OUT SOILS 

would plow under the vetch and stalks, and about the 
loth of Alay plant to field corn, giving same thorough 
cultivation, and when same was plowed the last time, 
would sow to rye or vetch. In this case I would as soon 
sow rye as vetch. 

I would not allow the corn or rye to be pastured, and 
the following spring would plow the whole under and 
plant again to field corn. Both these crops of field corn 
I know would produce to your surprise and the surprise 
of your neighbors, and you would be well along on the 
highway of building up your soil. 

After the second crop of field corn the soil could be 
planted to wheat, followed with clover. 

If you do not live in the vicinity of a canning factory, 
then your first planting could be eitiier cow peas or hun- 
garian, but these crops should be turned under before the 
ripening of their seed, and the soil sown to rye or vetch ; 
my preference would be vetch. 

The following spring plow up and plant to field corn, 
the same at laying-by time to be planted either to vetch 
or rye, and the next season to be plowed up and put in 
corn, to be followed with wheat and clover. 

I know that this method of soil-building will work 
grandly, for I have tried it. 

With this method I can in two seasons grow from 50 
to 100 bushels of corn to the acre on most any worn-out 
soils. 

On fairly good soils results will astonish you. 

If you wish to start alfalfa on a piece of worn soil, and 
live near a canning factory, sow to peas as directed and 
follow with sweet corn and vetch ; keep oft' stock and plow 
under vetch before ripening of the seed, and keep culti- 
vating your ground until middle of July or first of August 
and sow to alfalfa. Clip the alfalfa when five or six 
inches high, leaving clippings on the ground, and clip 
again before winter if growth should be considerable. 

If you do not live near a canning factory, sow hun- 

74 



RESTORIXG WORN AND WORN-OUT SOILS 

garian, and if ground is much worn, plow under before 
seed ripens and sow to vetch. lUit if soil is fairly rich, 
cut the hungarian for hay just as seed has formed, and 
then disc thoroughly and sow to vetch. 

The following spring, in either of the above cases, plow 
under the vetch before it ripens its seed. Keep the 
ground cultivated until you are ready to sow the alfalfa 
seed, which may be any time from the middle of July to 
the first of August, the earlier the better. If you use 
care in selecting and sowing your alfalfa seed, you will 
obtain a splendid stand and crop of alfalfa. 

In case you plow under your hungarian you lose a 
year's crop, but suppose you do ; you gain more than you 
lose in the fertility you gain and the condition in which 
you get your soil. 

If your soil is not poor and }-ou cut your hungarian. 
you will get a vast (juantity of fuie hay. which, as stated, 
we regard as the best hay that can be grown on the farm, 
alfalfa alone excepted. 

Peas, hungarian and vetch planted in the manner we 
have stated blaze the way through the perplexities of 
compact, non-innoculated soils to successful alfalfa grow- 
ing. There is no doubt about it ; try it and see. 

I have elsewdiere stated that it is a great mistake to 
allow soils to be idle. There is only one exception, and 
that is wdien you are starting a blue grass pasture. 

The soil should ever be occupied in growing a crop 
intended either for grain, feeding or plowing under. 

Field corn, after it is laid by, ought always to be sown 
with vetch, rye or clover, even if same field is to be ])ut 
in corn the next season. 

If wheat ground is to be follow^ed with corn, the same 
should be disced or broken immediately after wheat is 
removed and sown to vetch or rye, the same to be plowed 
under in the spring. 

By following this plan you gain the advantage of till- 
age, soil covering, and getting organic matter in the soil. 

75 




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CHAPTER XII. 
King Corn. 

Corn has been proclaimed the King- of all Cereals, and 
who can dispute his title? 

While corn is of one species, its varieties are numerous. 
It is one of the most beautiful and useful plants that 
grows. Owing" to its being so common, we lose sight of 
its beauty, yet in parts of the world it is cultivated as an 
ornamental plant. 

More people eat corn than any other grain except rice. 

Corn is the farmer's best crop, because it not only fur- 
nishes food for himself and beasts, but returns the most 
money for the least labor and expense of any crop on 
the farm. 

Corn is not adapted to all climates. P)Ut while it is 
affected by climate and soil, yet by continuous cultiva- 
tion from the same seed, year after year, it can be made 
to establish itself in most any locality. 

Corn, being" distinctly an American plant, is produced 
chiefly on American soil. Hut not all our soils will pro- 
dttce corn. The "corn belt" is limited, embracing" chiefly 
the great States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Ne- 
braska, Kansas and Missouri. Other States grow it, but 
not to the extent of the States mentioned. 

There was produced in the corn belt in the year 1909 
2,772,367,000 bushels of corn, and yet the price of corn 
is high, showing that the uses of corn are large. 

The consimiption capacity of the world for corn is so 
great that there does not seem to be any danger of an 
over-production. In fact, the demand for corn is greater 

77 



KING CORN 

than the supply, or the price would not be so high as it 
is now. 

On account of our soils losing in fertility, the average 
bushels per acre is not increasing as it should. 

If corn is the easiest, cheapest and best money-making 
crop grown on the farm, then farmers should become en- 
thusiastic over any method that will bring about a greater 
yield per acre. 

In the preceding chapters I have shown the original 
process of soil building and the best methods of soil 
restoration. 

The methods of soil building I have detailed are not 
chimerical, but are real, practical, cheap and at the com- 
mand of every American farmer. They will put vour 
soil in the right condition to grow lOO bushels of corn 
per acre. 

While good soil well prepared as a seed bed is the very 
foundation of a good corn crop, it is not the only thing 
needed to produce a large crop. You must have good 
seed. Seed selection is important in any crop. The loss 
occasioned by poor seed is enormous, and it can all be 
avoided with a little care. 

Too many of us depend on our seedsmen, and as they 
assume no liability on account of poor seed, we are help- 
less if our seeds prove to be bad. 

The author purchases every year for his own growing 
seeds amounting to thousands of dollars, and his long 
experience in the purchase and growing of seeds has 
persuaded him that there ought to be a drastic law regu- 
lating the selling of seeds. There are so many dishonest 
persons dealing with dishonest seeds that the honest 
dealer is often imposed upon, but under present methods 
the grower suffers the entire loss of poor, unreliable 
seeds. 

Wherever it is possible to do so, the farmer should 
grow his own seed crop. AVhen it is necessary to pur- 
chase, deal only with reliable persons and houses. 



KING CORN 

Seed corn is so easily grown and cared for. It is said 
that the best time to begin selecting seed corn is while 
you are cultivating the corn, by noticing the most prom- 
ising stalks and ears, but as we are usually too busy at 
this time to do this, the practical time to select is at 
husking time. 

In selecting seed corn, the stalks and husks should be 
first noticed. The ear should be on the stalk at a me- 
dium height from the ground, and the ear should bend 
downward. 

The husks should cover the ear entirely. The follow- 
ing rules for selecting good seed corn are as good as any 
that can be given : 

"The ear should be lull and strong in middle ])ortion. 
The circumference in the middle should be about three- 
fourths of the length of the ear. 

"The rows of kernels should be straight, and not less 
than i6 nor more than 22 in number. 

"The length of ear should be not less than ^y^ inches. 

"White cob in yellow corn or red cob in white corn 
disqualifies. 

"Twelve or more foreign kernels disqualifies. 

"The kernel should be twice as long as it is broad and 
of medium size. The edges should be nearly straight, so 
as to leave only a slight crease between rows on outside 
of ear. 

"There should be no space between the tips of the ker- 
nels, either on sides or edges. 

"Kernel indentation should be regular and fairh^ deep, 
but not pinched, which would make crown chafify. The 
kernels should be uniform in shape and size. 

"The ear should be firm and sound. The germ should 
be well developed, indicating strong vitality." 

Seed corn should never be exposed to freezing weather 
unless it be thoroughly dry, and should be put in a dry 
place, where ventilation is perfect. 

The time and method of gathering seed corn, as given 

79 



KING CORN 

by the Agricultural Experiment Station of Purdue Uni- 
versity, is so practical and good that we quote them in 
full : 

"To get the best seed corn it should be selected in the 
field after it has matured and while the characters of the 
parent stalk can be observed. This can be done to the 
best advantage by going" through the field after the corn 
is mature and before the general harvest begins and 
picking ears of good size and quality from the stalks that 
are strong and vigorous looking, but not coarse. There 
should be a large leaf development. The leaf is the 
laboratory of the plant where the food it gathers is manu- 
factured. The stalk should be of medium size, strong at 
the base and tapering gradually to the tassel. It should 
stand up well and bear its ears at a convenient height for 
husking. The shank should be of medium length and 
strength. A short shank holds the ear too erect, while a 
long shank allows it to hang over too far. Ears on long 
shanks or high up on the stalk are more likely to pull 
down the stalk during a wind storm, besides being incon- 
venient to husk. The ears selected should be strong and 
well developed, with straight rows of regular sized ker- 
nels. The kernels should be rather deeply dented. The 
smoother kernels are generally shallow and will not 
produce so w^ell. The seed ears should always be a little 
rougher than the average of the crop, otherwise the 
variety will become smoother each year and the kernels 
shallower. The dent, howe\'er, should run squarely 
across the kernel, and there should be no sharp or pointed 
margins. 

"Seed corn should never be picked before it is mature. 
An immature kernel has not had time to store up all the 
food it wanted, and consequently w^ill be more or less 
weak in vitality. Early picked corn, if well preserved, 
may germinate well under favorable conditions, but its 
constitution has been weakened, and the vield will be 



80 



KING CORN 

correspondingly lessened. Nature should be allowed to 
ripen the seed in her own way. 

"Selecting seed corn from the crib is always objection- 
able. The vitality has generally been more or less ir- 
jurcd, and, while the ears selected may have a good ap- 
pearance, one can tell nothing as to the character of the 
stalks which produced them. Numerous experiments 
have shown that crib corn produces smaller yields than 
corn that has been ]3roperly selected in the field and well 
preserved through the winter. 

"The quality of seed corn selected from the field should 
always be considerably more than will be needed for 
planting, so that there may be room for further and more 
critical selection later on. If the (juality of seed ears 
selected before the general husking is insufficient, it is a 
good plan to have a small box attached to the outside of 
the wagon box into which desirable seed ears found while 
husking can be put." 

When you buy seed corn, get it on the ear and from a 
place in your same latitude, and an early variety. 

All seed corn should be tested before planting. The 
importance of this is seen when we consider that gener- 
ally farmers do not get more than an average of 75 per 
cent, of a stand of corn, when the average should not be 
less than 95 per cent. After corn has once been planted 
it is generally too late to replant the entire field if the 
stand is poor, and I have never known replanted corn in 
missing hills to make anything more than fodder. 

The method of testmg seed as given by the Purdue 
University Agricultural Experiment Station is as fol- 
lows : 

"There are many simple methods of making the ger- 
mination test, but in all cases each ear should be tested 
by itself. Experiments have showni that as a rule the 
testing of a few kernels picked at random from different 
parts of the ear will safely determine whether or not the 
ear should be used for seed. About five kernels should 

81 



KING CORN 

l)e taken from each ear and kept separate, and the ear 
from which they came must be marked in such a way 
that it can be readil}- located after the test is made. In 
selecting- the kernels for the test, take one from near the 
butt, three from various parts of the middle portion, and 
one from near the tip. Look for elevated or swollen 
spots on the ear from which to take the kernels. If 
there are any weak germs, the}- are likely to be found on 
the swollen spots, because there the cob w^as probably 
more or less spongy and retained moisture after the rest 
of the ear was dry and out of danger of being injured. 

"The recjuisites for germination are moisture, warnith 
and air. An\- chamber or vessel in which these can be 
provided will answer the purpose. The exact method 
employed will be largely a matter of con\-enience. An 
ordinary dinner plate with a double fold of moistened 
muslin between which the kernels can be laid, covered 
with another plate to prevent too rapid drying, makes a 
very good germinating chamber. A shallow box into 
which several lots of kernels may be laid between folds 
of moistened paper and covered with a lid will do. A 
shallow box containing moist earth or sawdust in which 
the kernels may be planted may also be handy. In any 
case the tester should be put in a warm place, but not too 
near the stoxe. The tem])erature of the ordinary lixing 
room is about right, prcnided that it does not become 
colder than 55 degrees during the night." 

After seed has been ]M-operly saved and tested, and 
having your soil built up in the n-ianner I have detailed 
in previous chapters, the next important step is the prep- 
aration of the seed bed. 

In a previous chapter I showed the importance of 
breaking up the soil at the right time, and assuming that 
that is done properly, the same should be Avorked down 
to as nearly level as possible immediately after plowing. 
The best plan is to run ox'er each half-day's plowing with 
some good pulverizer. A level, well-pulverized surface 

82 



KING CORN 

absorl)s heat and retains moistnre. both essential to good 
corn growth. 

A pulverizer should be used that will pul\-erize the soil 
to a depth of at least three inches. 

Where soil is dry at plowing time, or where a heavy 
coating of green crops or organic matter has been plowed 
under, I would advise the use of a roller or drag before 
using a pulverizer. Xo time is lost b}- running the pul- 
verizer over }-()ur fields in opposite directions. \\'e all 
hurry too much in ])re])aring the seed bed. If we would 
run the ])uherizer over our fields a dozen times, or for a 
week before planting, it would more than pay us for the 
time spent. Our soil would be level, mellow and in good 
tilth. The planter could be run with ease and at a uni- 
form depth, and the seed would be placed in a bed of 
warm, moist earth, surrounded by every condition con- 
ducive to (|uick. healthy growth, thus securing a better 
stand of corn. The growth of weeds would be so checked 
that the corn would have a chance to reach the cultivat- 
ing stage before the_\' were of an}' size. 

Having the seed bed in proper condition, the next im- 
portant step is ])lanting. In the main part of the corn 
belt the best time to plant is between the 1st and loth 
of May. As a rule, planting cannot be done with safety 
before May i unless the spring is early and the soil is in 
excellent condition as to dr^'uess and warmth. In the 
south part of the corn belt planting may be earlier. It 
is not infrequently the case that good seed will fail to 
grow when ]jlanted too early or when the soil is too moist 
and cold. Heat, air and moisture cause the growth of 
seeds, and the seeds must have just the right proportion 
of each ; too much of either one is iniurious to the plant. 

The earth should be pressed firmly over the seed, 
which causes the moisture to come in contact with the 
outer covering of the seed and produces a sufiicient 
amount of heat by preventing air circulating too freely 



83 



KING CORN 

around the seed. The seed placed in the soil under fa- 
vorable conditions commences to grow at once. 

Again, corn should not be planted too deeply. 

In my long experience in growing sweet corn I have 
learned that two-thirds of the poor stands may be attrib- 
uted entirely to too deep planting. I make it a rule to 
plant not over one inch in depth, and when seed is good 
always get 95 per cent, and over of a stand. Planted 
five inches in depth, the seed will not germinate 5 per 
cent. The same is true as to field corn. A covering of 
one inch is sufficient. Covered three inches or more, 
growth is unhealthy and not rapid. 

Corn has two sets of roots, one above the surface and 
the other underground. The ones above the surface are 
the brace roots, and do not perform their functions until 
the plant is of considerable size, generally not until the 
corn is laid by. These roots are important to corn 
growth, because they push out and penetrate deeply into 
the ground at a time when the corn plant is bearing its 
harvest and needs to be supported from the onslaught of 
winds and storms. 

These brace roots shoot out from the plant above its 
first joint, about an inch above the grain. Plant the 
grain too deep, a new and unnatural joint must be formed 
at the surface (it is never formed under the surface), 
from which the brace roots begin to grow. This new 
joint-forming process stays the growth of the plant until 
the new joint is formed. 

Heretofore I have tried to impress upon my readers 
the fact that we should study nature's ways of doing 
things, so that we may avoid doing that which crosses 
her, for if we do we pay the penalty. 

A study of corn growth will convince any student of 
nature that corn is injured when its seed is planted to a 
greater depth than one inch. If this be true, then the 
practice of planting corn in a furrow and filling the fur- 
row by cultivation is wrong. 

84 



KING CORN 

Next to planting the corn the proper depth is a good 
corn planter with which to plant the seed. 

A poor corn planter is about the worst nuisance on the 
farm. Get the best that can be procured, and consign all 
poor ones to the scrap heap. 

In selecting seed corn discard tips and butts and run 
seed through a grader so same is of uniform size before 
using in planter. The planter should be set for planting 
two grains to the hill. 

Extra strong soil will mature three grains to the hill, 
but under all conditions I have found that it is best to 
only plant two grains to the hill ; but in planting two 
grains to the hill it is very important that you have good 
seed or your stand may be poor. 

Between planting and cultivating there elapses gener- 
ally two weeks. Sometimes, on account of rains, this 
time may be extended, especially if our soils are naturally 
wet and not well drained. AMien it is possible to work 
the soil we should not be idle during this time. We must 
not forget that a crust on the soil causes the soil moisture 
to evaporate very rapidly. A loose soil prevents this and 
absorbs moisture from the air. 

An insufficient quantity of available moisture is a 
great cause for short crops, hence the importance of do- 
ing that which will conserve the moisture so the corn 
roots will absorb it. 

Nothing conserves moisture in the soil like a soil 
mulch. This soil mulch is the great secret of corn culti- 
vation. A large crop of corn cannot be grown without 
it, so the necessity of beginning to create soil mulch in 
the earlier stage of corn growing, or between planting 
and cultivating time. It will practically stop all mois- 
ture evaporation from the surface of the soil, and stirring 
the soil will kill the weeds, so to procure this soil mulch 
the harrow or pulverizer should be run over the planted 
corn before the corn sprout has pushed its way through 
the soil. 

85 



1^ . ir' 




1 



A Promising Potato Field. 



Picture taken September 11, 1909. This field was fertilized 
by plowing under heavj- crop of Vetch; it yielded 250 bushels 
per acre of large, fine potatoes. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

The Culture of Corn. 

Corn can only reach its hii^hest stage of development 
when it is properly cultivated. The corn root is the 
mouth of the corn plant, as its food is collected from the 
soil and fed to it through its roots, hence the necessity of 
protecting" the corn roots and putting ahout them the en- 
vironments essential to their best development and 
growth. 

The corn roots nuist be jjrotected so they can perform 
their functions of collecting plant food undistur1)ed. 

Any method of cultivation that destroys any portion of 
the corn roots is disastrous to the corn plant, and reduces 
the yield in proportion to the amount of roots destroyed. 

Eminent professors of corn culture have by experi- 
ments proven that corn roots pruned to the depth of three 
inches, six inches from the hill cut the yield six bushels to 
the acre, and four inches deep, eighteen bushels to the 
acre. 

Cultivating deep and tearing off the corn roots after the 
second cultivating will decrease the yield from three to 
twenty bushels to the acre, so any method of corn cultiva- 
tion that destroys the roots must be abandoned if we 
would secure the highest and best yield. 

As to the two first cultivations, corn may be cultivated 
deeply, but after that the cultivation should not exceed 
one or two inches in depth. 

Corn roots must have plenty of moisture, and they seek 
this moisture near the surface. During the growing sea- 

87 




1909 Champion Ear of Corn, an almost Perfect ear. 



THE CULTURE OF CORN 

son the corn plant will absorb its own weight of water 
over and over again, and as this water passes through the 
corn system the corn food is carried into ihe cells of the 
leaves, where the sunlight transforms it into the material 
that the plant needs in its growth. 

It is said that the leaves of the corn plant on an acre of 
soil will throw off during a season water that would cover 
the ground to a depth of ten inches. 

This, if true, would prove that we must conserve the 
soil moisture if we successfully grow corn. This is 
the most important feature of corn culture, and one we 
must learn and appreciate. 

That system of corn culture must be adopted which 
will conserve the soil moisture so that it may be available 
in sufficient quantities during each day of the growth of 
the corn j^lant. The moisture must not be allowed to 
evaporate from the ground. 

The only way to preserve soil moisture and prevent 
evaporation is to keep stirring the ground to the depth 
of one or two inches, so as to procure the soil mulch or 
blanket of finely pulverized soil on top of the ground. We 
must exer keep in mind that corn has but two sets of 
roots, feeding and bracing. The feeding roots are small 
and tender, and run out from the plant in a horizontal 
direction and when full grown exceed the height of the 
stalk. They first appear but a few inches below the sur- 
face and never penetrate to the depth at which the soil 
was broken until the corn is in silk. An examination of 
the field during the growing season from the second cul- 
tivation to the "laying-by" time will show these feeding 
roots occupying the entire soil between the rows of corn. 

When the corn reaches its silking stage these roots will 
appear in great quantities. They are searching for food 
and moisture to complete the growth of the corn plant; 
hence the necessity of their protection and conserving the 
moisture for their use. 

No weeds must be allowed to grow, as they rob the 

89 



THE CULTURE OF CORN 

corn roots of food and moisture needed for the corn plant. 
Cultivation must be kept up as long- as possible, so that 
the soil moisture ma}' be maintained until the corn plant 
has stored sufficient food to mature its ears of corn. 

My most successful method of corn culture is to first 
plow the corn each way. as deep as possible, when the 
corn is large enough, getting as close to the corn as pos- 
sible. All cultivation after this must be such as stir the 
soil to the depth of an inch, the cultivation to be frequent 
and kept up until the corn is well along towards maturity. 
When corn is too large to cultivate with two-horse culti- 
vators a one-horse cultivator that barely scratches the 
soil should be frequently used. 

Good corn culture means an early starting and a late 
discontinuance of the cultivators. 

T have known corn yields to be cut short by lack of 
early and late cultivation. When the growth of corn has 
been once stunted the damage done cannot be repaired. 

I once gave one-half of .a field of corn two late cultiva- 
tions with a one-horse combined harrow and cultivator, 
and increased the yield nearly ten bushels per acre over 
the half not cultivated. 

The corn's crisis is when it has completed its stalk 
growth and begins making the ear. If at this time the 
dry season begins and soil becomes so compact and dry 
that moisture and air is excluded, conditions favorable to 
the proper maturity of the ear are cut short. At this 
critical time the cultivators should be kept moving. 



90 




1909 Champion Ears of Corn. As Near Perfect as Corn 
can be produced. 



CHAPTER XIV. 
Sweet Corn. 

Sweet corn is used almost entirely for human food, so 
vast quantities of it are consumed upon our dinins^- tables. 

A favorite way of cooking- it is to boil it on the cob, and 
served in this manner it is regarded as one of the "courses 
of the most refined and epicurean dishes." 

The great caiming industry of the United States also 
consume great (quantities of it. their average yearly pack 
being over six million cases, of two dozen cans each. 

The sweet corn plant cut up and properly cured for 
fodder makes a valuable feed for all stock, one of the most 
valuable that can be grown on the farm. 

Stock will entirely consume it. As a winter feed for 
horses it excells in value any feed grown. 

It puts and keeps horses in good condition. It cannot 
be over-fed, and horses and cattle will almost entirely 
subsist upon it through the winter season, coming out in 
the spring in fine condition. 

It is one of the best milk-producing feeds grown, pro- 
ducing quantities of well-tasting rich milk. Where dairy- 
ing is carried on to a large extent sweet corn fodder is 
considered worth ten dollars per acre. And it is worth 
this sum for general feeding. Some even claim that one 
acre is equal to eight acres of grass, and worth more than 
two acres of any forage crop grown. 

Sweet corn fodder should be cut when the leaves arc 
glazing and put in small shocks for curing. 

93 



SWEET CORN 

In habit of growth sweet corn is smaller than field corn, 
but otherwise its characteristics are similar. 

It requires the same soil, attention and cultivation to 
grow it as field corn. 

Like field corn, its varieties are many. The varieties 
chiefly grown for canning purposes are Stowell's Ever- 
green, Early Evergreen, Crosby's Early and Country 
Gentlemen, the first and last named being the leaders. 

A\ hile Stowell's Evergreen has large ears, it is the 
sweetest and most valuable of all. The author's large and 
long experience with it for canning purposes has con- 
vinced him that this \ariety gathered in the right stage 
comes nearer filling the requirements for a perfect sweet 
corn than any variety that is grown. 

\Miile it is true that the Country Gentlemen variety 
has the reputation and sells for the most money, yet Sto- 
well's Evergreen plucked at the right stage has a flavor 
that cannot be excelled. 

In the main sweet corn lielt it can he ]danted from May 
I to July I. 

Planting in wet, cold soils must be avoided, as the seed 
will rot. 

The planting of the seed should never exceed an inch in 
depth. 

As I stated in the previous chapter, a poor stand of 
sweet corn can l)e attriljuted nine times out of ten to too 
deep planting of the seed. 

The seed must have just the right amount of heat and 
moisture to germinate it properly, yet there is no diffi- 
cultv in securing a stand if one is careful in ])lanting it 
when ground is warm and not too wet. 

There seems to l)e a disposition to plant sweet corn too 
thick. This is a mistake. There should never be to ex- 
ceed three grains to the hill, and when drilled set drill to 
drop a1)out one foot apart. 

Good seed ought to test 95 per cent ; where it tests less 
than this I would advise hand picking the seed, picking 

94 



SWEET CORN 

out the brightest and best grains. It pays to do this, and 
it can be done in l)ad days of spring when other work can- 
not be done. 

Canning factories pay from five to ten doHars per ton 
for sweet corn jerked from the stalk, and delix'cred to the 
factory in a green stag'e fit for canning. 

Some fact(.ries ha\e a system of grading or testing In' 
which a bushel is taken from each load and shucked and 
weighed, when it must come up to a certain fixed stand- 
ard, l)ut generally it is bought b}' the ton just as it is 
jerked in the field. The ten-dollar price is paid for the 
smaller eared variety like Country Gentleman, which do 
not produce a large number of tons per acre. 

The highest ])rice paid for hea\'v yielding varieties, 
like Stowell's Evergreen, is eight dollars per ton, 
and at this price there is money in growing it, as it 
will produce from four to six tons per acre, to which add 
the value of the fodder and you have one of the most pro- 
fitable crops grown on the farm. 

If it does not prove a profitable croj) it is because it has 
been planted on poor soil or its cultivation has been neg- 
lected. 

It will respond and i)roduce fine paying crops if given a 
chance. 

I have known farmers to put it on their ])0(.rest, worst 
drained soil, give it practicaly no cultivation and then 
curse and condemn it as a non-monc}' maker. 

I knew one farmer who planted fi\e acres and never 
cultivated it once, and then he expressed himself that 
there was no money in growing' it. 

Sweet corn to be fit for eating or canning must l)e har- 
vested when the shucks are green and while the grain is 
in the milky stage. It is of no value for eating or canning 
when the shuck is yellow and the grain is hard. It must 
be brought to the factor}' the day harvested. If allowed 
to stand in the wagon over night it heats and becomes 
valueless. A\'hile it is true that factories hold it o\'er the 

95 



SWEET CORN 

night, yet they put it on cement or ventilated floors, 
where it is spread out thin so that air reaches into the 
interior of the ])ile and where there is no danger of its 
heating. 

Sweet corn has but one enemy, the worm found in the 
end of the ear at certain seasons of the year, and which 
is said to be the same worm that destroys the cotton crop, 
the Bollworm. 

\Miile this worm is found to some extent in all sweet 
corn it is chiefly found in sweet corn grown in warmer 
latitude. For this reason sweet corn grown south of a line 
parallel with the Ohio river cannot be grown for or han- 
dled by canning factories with profit, as the work of re- 
moving the corn damaged by the worm adds too much 
expense to the finished product. 

In the sweet corn growing section this worm appears 
late in the season, but it has been known to make its ap- 
pearance before the season was more than one-half past, 
and to put a complete stop to further operations of fac- 
tories. 

It always appears to a considerable extent in late plant- 
ing. For that reason sweet corn for canning purposes 
should never be planted later than June 15 to 20. 

No remedy has yet been discovered by which this 
worm or its parent can be destroyed. 

The chief sweet corn growing States for canning pur- 
poses are Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, New York, Mary- 
land. Wisconsin and Indiana. 

The States are named in the order as to quantity pro- 
duced for canning. 

While Maine has the reputation of packing the best 
corn, yet all the other States mentioned can and do pack 
just as good corn as Maine. 

The canning of sweet corn so as to be palatable is an 
art in which but few are skilled. The best of sweet corn 
can be spoiled in canning. Like the preparation of any 



96 



SWEET CORN 

food, so as to be a delight to the taste, it is generally up 
to the cook. 

Sweet corn to be good must be sweet, and this sweet- 
ness cannot be artificially supplied by the addition of 
sugar, for the original sweetness cannot be imitated. 

No Northern State has any advantage over another as 
to possessing a soil or climate that will produce sweet 
corn containing an abundance of natural f^weet. for South- 
ern States will grow sweeter sweet corn than any North- 
ern State. It is a fact, however, that sweet corn grown 
on sandy soil will contain more sugar than that grown on 
muck or heavy black soils. 

If Maine packs better corn it is l)ecause she has better 
cooks in her canning factt)ries, and possesses more skill 
in knowing how to handle the raw material so as to pre- 
vent it from deteriorating beff)re it gets into the can. 

Sugar l)egins to disappear from sweet corn as soon as 
the ear is separated from the stalk. 

A chemical change sets about at once and the sugar is 
transformed into other substances. The rapidity of this 
changing process can be arrested to a certain extent only 
l)y handling the corn quickly and keeping it at as low a 
temperature as possible. 

A large body of plucked sweet corn will heat very 
quickly and become worthless, because the chemical 
change brought about by the heating destroys the sugar 
in the corn. 

If any Northern section of the country has any advant- 
age over another it is because it has such a low tempera- 
ture that the corn can be kept in a tender and cool stage 
for a longer period of time. 

An excessive rainfall is injurious to sweet corn. During 
a dry season if a health}' growth can be maintained the 
product will contain more sugar. 

By proper cultivation during dry weather a healthy 
growth can be maintained and a large growth of corn can 
be produced. 

97 

7 



SWEET CORN 

I have demonstrated this during the last two seasons 
to m}^ complete satisfaction. The season of 1908 was very 
dry, and my crop of sweet corn was the best quality and 
the best yield I ever produced. The season of 1909 was 
too wet, and my crop did not come up to quantity pro- 
duced to the acre by a ton or more, and the quality was 
not as good. 

When the skin of the grains of sweet corn is broken it 
undergoes fermentative changes at a rapid rate because 
of its high per centage of sugar, and this also affords an 
opportunity for dangerous bacteria to enter into the corn 
juices, resulting in sour corn, the canners' worst enemy. 

No amount of heat that can be applied by canning ap- 
paratus will destroy them. 

It is said that the source of the germ of these bacteria 
is from the ears of corn, their presence being found on the 
kernels beneath the husks. 

All this shows the necessity of great care in getting 
sweet corn into the factory in the right stage, condition 
and manner and the proper handling of it in the factory. 

Sweet corn has a low conducting power of heat, hence 
the necessity of a long period of heating in order that 
bacteria that produce spoliation be killed. 

If not sufificiently heated the center of the can is not 
sterelized and souring begins there. 

The reason the housewife does not successfully can 
sweet corn is because she does not submit it to a proper 
heating process. If she would l)()il it seven hours in a 
kettle it probaljly would keep for her. 

A woman once asked the writer the name of the acid 
he used in his canning factory to preserve sweet corn in 
the can from spoiling, and when she was informed that no 
acid was used, but that the preserving process was ob- 
tained solely by sterilization or heat, she was incredulous 
and went awa^' firmlv believin"- that the writer was Ivinc:. 



98 




A Good Type of Sweet Corn Seed, Stowell's Evergreen. 



CHAPTER XV. 
A Chapter of Don't Forgets. 

DON'T FORGET — That soil is as jealous as a lover; 
nes^iect or mistreat it and its bounty is \vithdra\vn. Caress 
and feed it, it yields a hundredfold. 

DON'T FORGET — That a farmer becomes a soil rob- 
ber when he does not each year put back into the soil 
more organic matter than he farmed out of it. 

DON'T FORGET— Tbal the orn stalk is one of the 
farmer's best by-products. A ton of them contains six- 
teen pounds of nitrogen and nearly as many pounds of 
potash, and the organic matter in them is of inestimal)le 
value for supplying- humus to the soil. 

DOX'T FORGET — That the moisture conserving ca- 
pacity of the soil is increased by the plowing tmder of 
large amounts of organic matter. 

DON'T FORGET— That organic matter in the soil 
aids soil ventilation, and furnishes supplies of nitrogen 
for the growing plant. 

DON'T FORGET— That rye, hungarian and the le- 
gumes are the best producers of organic matter. 

DON'T FORGET— That the farmer who refuses to 
supply the wants of his soil is traveling along the highway 
of the abandoned farm. 

DON'T FORGET— That it takes less than fifty years 
to farm out the fertility of the soil if none is added in the 
meantime. 

DON'T FORGET— That England's soil, after a tillage 

101 



A CHAPTER OF DON'T FORGETS 

of centuries, is as fertile to-day as in any stage of its ex- 
istence, kept so by sane methods of soil building. 

DON'T FORGET — That the entire prosperity of our 
country is founded on the fertility of our soil, and that he 
only is a patriot who lends his aid to conserve that fer- 
tility. 

DON'T FORGET— That the conservation of soil 
wealth means a full dinner pail in the hands of every 
working man, a loaf of bread on every dining-table and 
comfortable clothing'on every human body. 

DON'T FORGET — That the conservation and increas- 
ing of soil fertility means the building up of an empire in 
our Middle \\^est. richer in power and splendor than any 
ever dreamed or imagined. 

DON'T FORGET — That environment and greed has 
made us soil robbers, that we must get away from that 
environment and greed or perish. 

DON'T FORGET— That he who gets closest to the 
soil reaps its richest reward. 

DON'T FORGET — That he only is a farmer who loves 
and feeds his soil. 

DON'T FORGET— That the proper feeding of the soil 
requires the exercise of a fertile brain. 

DON'T FORGET — That a farmer who does not love 
his soil will mistreat it. 

DON'T FORGET — That a soil robber is always a man 
of greed. 

DON'T FORGET— That soil-building is but the appli- 
cation of simple common sense to the solution of simple 
agricultural problems. 

DON'T FORGET — That no one is worthy the name 
of farmer unless he is willing to do that which will give 
his soil a chance to do its best. 

DON'T FORGET— That for soil to do its best it must 
be fed the food elements it needs. 

DON'T FORGET— That the soil robber is the high- 
wayman of agriculture. 

102 



A CHAPTER OF DON'T FORGETS 

DON'T FORGET— That crop rotation alone will not 
build up your soil. 

DON'T FORGET— That you cannot get too much 
organic matter in your soil. 

DON'T FORGET— That the farmer should be trained 
for his work as the lawyer is trained for his profession. 

DON'T FORGET— That he who expects to build up 
his soil by crop rotation alone is doomed to failure and 
bitter disappointment. 

DON'T FORGET— That it requires as much intelli- 
gence to direct the business of building- up the soil as it 
does to direct the affairs of trade or commerce. 

DON'T FORGET — That the more intelligence you put 
into your soil the more money value you will extract 
from it. 

DON'T FORGET — That farm values are based on soil 
fertility. 

DON'T FORGET— That the soil, like the horse, gives 
its best service when it is well groomed and fed. 

DON'T FORGET— That he gets closest to the soil 
who studies its whims, its moods and its needs. 

DON'T FORGET— That soil building is the most vital 
problem of the age. 

DON'T FORGET— That you increase the value of 
your soil in proportion to what you feed it. 

DON'T FORGET — That skilled workmen are required 
in all trades, why not on the farm? 

DON'T FORGET — That our entire substance comes 
from the soil. If it fails us, we perish. 

DON'T FORGET — That the American farmer has yet 
to learn the lesson of "proper feeding of the soil." 

DON'T FORGET — That soil is as sensitive and re- 
sentive of neglect as a human being. 

DON'T FORGET— That in the history of nations no 
crisis ever came but what God produced the man to han- 
dle it, so in the crisis of soil exhaustion God has produced 
the plant or material that will restore it. 

103 



A CHAPTER OF DON'T FORGETS 

DON'T FORGET — That you cannot get anything out 
of wornout soil until you put something' in it. 

DON'T FORGET— That you must forget the way the 
pioneer farmed. You must think only of the way the soil 
must be farmed to-da}'. 

DON'T FORGET— That the purpose of this book is 
not so much to tell people exactly how to enrich the 
soil, as it is to rightly direct their thoughts and investiga- 
tions that the}' may help themselves to solve the soil 
problem. 

DON'T FORGET — That your severest test is in get- 
ting your wornout soil started towards increasing fer- 
tility. 

DON'T FORGET — That in pushing along the worn- 
out soil towards fertility, it's the keeping- at it that fur- 
nishes the momentum that accomplishes results. 

DON'T FORGET— That it is said that the net income 
of the average farmer is greater than the net income of 
the average city man. but that average cannot be main- 
tained without increasing the fertility of the soil. 

DON'T FORGET— That much of soil-building is being 
done like he who is trying to pull a two-horse load with 
one horse hitched to the end of the tongue. 

DON'T FORGET — That you cannot build u]) your soil 
as long as you continue to carr}' to the barn everything 
that grows upon it. 

DON'T FORGET— That covering the soil with green 
crops is one of the farmer's best methods of soil-building. 

DON'T FORGET — That organic matter gone up into 
smoke leaves no residue of value to the soil. 

DON'T FORGET — That corp rotation is a gay de- 
ceiver. 

DON'T FORGET— That it has been said that the soil 
is a living thing. The better reason why it should be fed. 

DON'T FORGET — That prosperous looking farms 
and farm buildings are but the reflex of a fertile soil. 

DON'T FORGET— That the man behind the plow is 

104 



A CHAPTER OF DON'T FORGETS 

no longer a force in a community when his plow is turn- 
ing infertile or wornout soil. 

DON'T FORGET— That it is folly to select and plant 
good seed in soil too poor to grow and mature them to 
a paying" crop. 

DONT FORGET— That the legume crops furnish the 
"balanced ration" needed for soils. 

DON'T FORGET — That a breathing soil means a liv- 
ing, fruitful crop. That soil cannot breath unless it is 
ditched and full of organic matter. 

DON'T FORGET— That the ratio of increase of your 
soil will be in proportion -to your interest in scientific 
farming'. 

DON'T FORGET — That the great secret of soil resto- 
ration is to keep your soil busy growing crops for both 
harvesting and plowing under. 

DON'T FORGET— That the soil that produces the 
poorest crops is like an inferior farm product — it doesn't 
bring the price. 

DON'T FORGET — That improved agriculture is 
brought about by fertile brains as well as fertile fields. 

DON'T FORGET— That when nature built the origi- 
nal soil she used a lavish supply of organic matter in its 
construction. 

DON'T FORGET— That to pull every day a full two- 
horse load requires two horses well fed and groomed. 
To make the soil pull its load of good crops it must be fed 
and groomed each day. 

DON'T FORGET — That the real farmer is one who 
manages so as to put back each year into the soil more 
fertility than was extracted from it by growing crops. 

DON'T FORGET— That the bedrock of the paying 
farm is soil, well fed. 

DON'T FORGET — That your success in soil restora- 
tion depends on your gumption to catch onto nature's 
ways of soil-building. 

DON'T FORGET— That the farmer wdio has no 

105 



A CHAPTER OF DON'T FORGETS 

thought beyond the year's profit, has his soil headed 
towards the doom of soil exhaustion. 

DON'T FORGET — That the men who once grew big- 
crops on our wornout soils were poor farmers or else 
these soils would now be rich in fertility. 

DON'T FORGET— That the policy of properly feed- 
ing the soil is not only good for future generations, but 
for the farmer who practices it. 

DON'T FORGET— That the farmer who does not 
ever have in view the conservation and increasing of soil 
fertility is obstructing his own way to success. 

DON'T FORGET— That he who produces the best 
crops is the one who ditches and feeds his soil the best. 

DON'T FORGET — That the farmer who says he can- 
not aflford to plow under green crops, will soon say there 
is no money in farming. 

DON'T FORGET— That there is no limit to the pos- 
sibilities of our well-drained soils so long as we do not 
limit their feed of organic matter. 

DON'T FORGET — That you cannot overfeed your 
soil with organic matter. 

DON'T FORGET— That the truly successful soil- 
builder is the one who drains his soil, tills it well, feeds 
it large quantities of organic matter and keeps it busy 
with growing crops. 

DON'T FORGET — That the physical condition and 
available plant food of the soil can only be maintained by 
feeding" it with plenty of animal and vegetable matter. 

DON'T FORGET— That the foundation of soil-build- 
ing is draining. 

DON'T FORGET — That draining a soil is like curry- 
ing a horse — it opens the pores and increases circulation. 

DON'T FORGET — That organic matter is farmed out 
of the soil in less than four years ; hence the necessity of 
adding to the supply each year. 

DON'T FORGET— That well-drained soil full of or- 
ganic matter is never sour. 

106 



A CHAPTER OF DOXT FORGETS 

DON'T FORGET— That it is the folly of follies to use 
commercial fertilizer on soils lacking in organic matter. 

DON'T FORGET— That it takes as much plant food 
to grow weeds as corn ; kill the weeds. 

DON'T FORGET— That the boy and the girl are two 
of the best products of the farmer, if trained along the 
lines of scientific agriculture and farm domestic science. 



107 




The farmer's best product, if educated along the lines of 
scientific agriculture. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Conclusion. 

Jf in the perusal of the preceding- chapters the reader 
has imbibed some of the author's enthusiasm for soil- 
building", crop-growing' and love of nature, then the mis- 
sion of this book has born good fruit. 

There is no grander nor more useful study than the 
study of the soil problem. It is a study that is of more 
vital interest to the public than any other, for the very 
fabric of life depends upon its correct solution. 

Since penning' the proem and introduction of this l)ook 
a mighty agitation has swept over and into every part of 
our country regarding- the high price of living. 

The price of farm products and manufactured goods 
being higher than known for years, our people are en- 
gaged in a great discussion trying to ascertain the cause 
of these high prices. 

The consensus of opinion seenis to be that the chief 
cause of high prices is the fact that too many of our peo- 
ple have left the farms for our cities, so the cry has gone 
up that the only solution of the question of high prices is 
"more producers and less consumers." "Back to the 
Farm" is the slogan. 

Our educational system is faulty. The boy and the 
girl have been educated away from the lines of agricul- 
ture and farni domestic science. 

The am1)itious country l:)oy with bright, sharp intellect 
has had held up to him onl_\' the ideals of lousiness and 

109 



CONCLUSION 

professional ]ife. The soil problems, the love of nature, 
the joy and hnancial returns of farming- fertile fields and 
the peacefulness of good farm surroundings have had no 
place in his education, so he has grown up believing that 
no true happiness or financial gain is to be found on the 
farm. 

The farmer boy so educated has drifted into the never- 
ending strife and worry of city men and business, and 
our farms have lost the best bloom of our young man- 
hood. 

True, some of the boys have attained success and emi- 
nence, and maybe happmess, but the vast majority of the 
mighty army of boys who have drifted from the farm into 
the cities bear the marks of disappointment and blasted 
li\es ; they have not gotten out of life what they would 
have gotten had they been educated along the lines of 
scientific agriculture and remained on the farm. 

A\'hile we are changing our methods of farming, so as 
to build u]) our soils, let us so change our educational 33^3- 
tem that it will educate our l)()}'s and girls to live rural 
lives and help to solve the problem of the soil and of farm 
domestic science, that the fields of our farms will be made 
richer, our herds and flocks be built uj) of better grades, 
our homes inside and out be made more pleasant and 
more attractive. 

\\'hen this is done the great procession of boys and 
girls will be headed towards the farm, and the profes- 
sions, the mercantile and manufacturing business will be 
relieved of the congestion of workers. 

Nearly forty years ago the author, a boy of fifteen, bid 
an afifectionate adieu to his mother on the old farm porch 
and set his face towards the city and entered its busy ac- 
tivities. He engaged in mercantile pursuits for a time, 
attending school and college, educated himself for the 
profession of law, engaged in the successful practice of 
his profession for many years, engaged in manufacturing, 
farming, political strife and office holding, and now finds 

110 



CONCLUSION 

himself past the nieri(Haii of Hfe with a great fund of ex- 
perience to his credit. 

But now as the border land of eternity appears to view, 
realizing that it will be but a short time until "life's fitful 
dream" will be o'er, he yearns to spend the remainder of 
his day-s upon the farm, that he may regain some of the 
lost pleasures of farm life. L'pon the farm, where far re- 
moved from the bitter, galling strife of men. he may com- 
mune with nature, study soil problems, ^mell the bloom 
of vetch and clover, admire the beauty of growing- plants, 
hear the songs of birds and the soothing rustle of the 
corn, and bask in the delights of sunshine and open sky. 

Farmers of America, you do not realize what (iod and 
Nature ha\'e done for you. Your lines ha\e indeed "fallen 
in pleasant ])laces." but oh. so many of you have failed to 
grasp your opportunities. Ye are God's chosen people 
and 3'et you do not act it. 

If you arc tempted to leave the farm, command the 
tempter to get behind you. Stay with your fields, your 
flocks and herds, im})ro\e your surroundings and make 
them more attractive ; train your boys and girls to be 
good farmers and housekeepers and enjoy the peaceful, 
restful life of the farm. 

There's music in the words, "Rack to the Farm," but 
there is sweeter music in the words, "Better Stay on the 
Farm a While Fonder." 



"The farm is the safest and surest. 
The orchards are loaded to-day ; 

You're as free as the air of the mountains. 
And monarch of all }"ou survey. 

Better stay on the farm a while longer. 

Tho' the profits come in rather slow ; 
Remember }'ou've nothing" to risk, boys. 

Don't be in a hurry to go." 
Ill 



mi\n f^ 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



